


Bullets For My Valentine

by jenunjen96816



Series: Bullets For My Valentine - The Series [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:15:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8822005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenunjen96816/pseuds/jenunjen96816
Summary: Ashlyn is a vigilante assassin with deadly skills and a conscience. Ali is a by-the-book law enforcement agent on the rise. Ali is working on a big case, and Ashlyn becomes a prime suspect. The two cross paths, and feelings develop, but what’s to happen, since the two are on opposite sides of the law?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this story a while ago but I lost all of my stories so I am going to try to repost.
> 
> As a heads up, there is a bit of story development before Ashlyn and Ali actually meet, but I tried to write it so it reads quickly. This is a crime/thriller with romance thrown in.
> 
> A couple disclaimers/warnings/etc: This story contains references to the military and law enforcement. I don't know much about either, but the references are just there to set context and move the story. I apologize in advance for any falsities. Also, this story will contain some conflict, tension, drama, adult language, and mature themes (but there will be some good fluffly moments as well). One other disclaimer - this story will contain some violence (it’s a crime/thriller story, after all).
> 
> Most importantly - I hope you enjoy the story.

The assassin laid in the darkness, perched on the rooftop of a four-story building. She was wearing all black, her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. She peered through the scope of her rifle and traced her shot to the doorway of the restaurant across the street and halfway down the block. Any minute now, her targets would be exiting. She had been tracking them for over six months. She knew that, every Sunday, they ate dinner here, at Salvatore’s on Taylor Street, in the section of Chicago known as Little Italy. They always arrived at seven and left anywhere between nine and ten. Last Sunday, the assassin had dined in the restaurant, arriving slightly before seven. She had seen her targets arrive right at seven with a phalanx of six bodyguards. She had dined alone and then left right after her targets had departed, around 9:42. She checked her watch. It was now 9:37. Tonight, she had arrived in the neighborhood at 6:30. She had drank a cappuccino at a coffee shop across the street from the restaurant and had seen her targets enter the restaurant at seven with the same phalanx of bodyguards. Then she went around the alley to her car, changed out of her jeans and button-down shirt into her black tactical outfit, grabbed her rifle case, and had entered the building and climbed to the rooftop. She had jammed the access door to the rooftop so she would remain undisturbed. She had set up her rifle and since then had been laying dead still for two and a half hours, as dusk turned to darkness, waiting for her targets to exit. She had wiggled her toes and fingers every five minutes, keeping her extremities mobile, since once her targets emerged from the restaurant, she would need to act instantly.

The assassin felt herself drifting, so she allowed herself to relax for a few seconds. She closed her eyes for three seconds and then re-opened them. The world sharpened, and she felt herself refocus. Her hands never left the barrel and the trigger of her rifle. She peered through the scope again and traced her shot for the umpteenth time. Just under three hundred yards. Her longest shot had been seven hundred yards. It wasn't a long shot for her by any means, but everything still had to go according to plan. The assassin started to look at her watch again, and as she did, she heard the sound of two car motors. She looked up and saw two black Mercedes sedans pull up in front of the restaurant. The assassin had seen her targets exit these vehicles, and she had no doubt that the vehicles were armor plated. The driver of each vehicle got out, scanned the street, then walked around to the curbside and opened the door to the back seat. The assassin took a deep breath and peered back through the scope. Her targets would be exiting the restaurant any minute now. She had one chance, maybe three seconds at most, to take out both targets. Any misses, or any longer than three seconds, and her targets would be in their bulletproof vehicles. Months of waiting and careful planning would be down the drain. She could not fail. She took another deep breath, exhaled and waited.

Thirty seconds later, four men the size of professional wrestlers wearing Italian cut suits exited the restaurant. They scanned the street quickly and then motioned behind them. The two targets came out of the restaurant, talking with each other and walking slowly to the cars. Five more seconds and they would be inside. The assassin took one last deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then gently squeezed the trigger. The bullet traveled through the silencer and hit the first target in the right temple. He went limp instantly and fell to the ground. The second target registered that something was seriously wrong and started to shout for help, but he was a second too late. Before he could get a word out, a bullet struck him right between the eyes, and he went down as fast as the first target. Chaos erupted outside of the front of the restaurant as the bodyguards sprung into action. Passersby scattered as four of the bodyguards formed a defensive perimeter and raised their weapons while the other two bodyguards checked on the targets. It was an impressive display of activity, but it was all for naught, as they were too late. Both targets had died before they hit the ground. As panic set into the mafia personnel currently outside Salvatore’s, the assassin raised herself to a crouching position. She quickly dismantled and then stowed her rifle into a soft carrying case that she slung over her shoulder, then picked up the two spent shell casings and put them in her pocket. Then, she peered up over the side of the building at the chaos that had developed on the street below.

Amid the chaos, one of the bodyguards thought he saw the slightest bit of movement on a rooftop across the street and halfway down the block, but he couldn’t be sure, and as his associates continued to shout and the sound of sirens approached, the assassin stood up, backed into the shadows, and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

The Chevy Caprice sped down Ashland Avenue and rounded the corner onto Taylor Street. It skidded to a stop as it reached Salvatore’s, and Special Agent Ali Krieger stepped out of the passenger’s side. Special Agent Megan Rapinoe put the car in park and exited the vehicle leaving the engine running. She caught up with Ali, and the pair made their way through the local cops and the press that were already on the scene.

“Damn, Kriegs. What the hell do you think happened here?”

“I don’t know, Pinoe. But I see Hope. Let’s find out.” They approached Detective Hope Solo of the Chicago Police Department, who was standing right outside the entrance to Salvatore’s. She was wearing a black soccer-style jersey, black jeans and black gym shoes, and she was talking with a uniformed police officer.  
“Hope”, Ali called out. Hope turned around.

“Krieger”, Hope said as Ali and Megan approached. Ali was wearing her standard black JOCT windbreaker, jeans and black boots with a short stacked heel. Hope stuck out her hand, and Ali shook it. Hope looked at Megan and said, “Agent Rapinoe.” Megan was wearing her standard navy blue FBI windbreaker, jeans, and black combat boots.

“Uh, that’s Special Agent Rapinoe, Detective Solo”, Megan corrected her. Hope always left out the “Special” part of Megan’s title, and Megan knew the tall, muscular brunette did that just to rib her. “Nice jersey, by the way, Hopey. What – you think you’re some kind of soccer player, or some shit?” Megan broke into a mocking smile and went through the motion of kicking a soccer ball.

“Nice haircut, Pinhead”, Solo retorted. What – are you a member of some dumb-ass Seattle riot grrrl band?”

“Alright, look you two – knock it off”, Ali said. “We have work to do. Hope - what do you know?”

Hope turned to Ali and looked her in the eye. Ali worked for the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce, or JOCT for short. It was a newly developed partnership between the FBI and local police departments that was tasked with combating organized crime and gangs operating in the major cities of the United States. The original overall model of law enforcement was that the FBI was in charge of organized crime, and local law enforcement was responsible for gang activity in their cities. The two branches had not always played well together, but that was changing. With the consolidation of power between different gang segments in the major cities, and the escalating conflict between local gangs and the mafia over the control of drugs, guns, and other vice-related activities, the original model had become outdated. Enter JOCT, whose purpose was to coordinate law enforcement effort between the FBI, who had the overall view of organized crime in the United States, and local law enforcement, who had their finger on the pulse of local crime activity. Megan was Ali’s partner from the FBI. She had a goofy side but a solid, tactical mind. Hope was Ali’s local partner. She was a bit of a maverick, but she was a tough, seasoned Chicago street cop, and she knew Chicago’s mafia and gangs inside and out. When they had first started working together, Megan and Hope had harbored a bit of the old-standing rivalry between the FBI and local law enforcement, but Ali got along well with both of them, and since she had started coordinating the efforts of the Chicago branch of the FBI and the Chicago PD, she had made considerable headway in making Hope and Megan get along better. Now they were pretty much on good terms, and for the most part took jabs at each other harmlessly. Both Hope and Megan liked and respected Ali, and in the two years the three of them had been working together, they had taken down some major players in the Chicago crime scene.

“The victims are Alberto Costello and Vincenzo Pazzarelli”, Hope began.

“Wow”, Ali said, and was silent for a second. “Two heavy hitters.” Costello was the underboss of the Marano crime family, by far the largest mafia family in Chicago. Pazzarelli was his top lieutenant. These guys were close to the top of the criminal underworld food chain. Them getting whacked was big, and something in Ali’s gut told her that this could get ugly. “What the hell happened here?”

Hope nodded in agreement. “Two shots”, she continued. “One tap to each victim. Costello was shot through the right temple. Pazzarelli was shot right between the eyes.”

“Any witnesses?” Ali asked.

“Nope. They had six bodyguards the size of professional wrestlers with them. None of them saw a thing. Neither did the few passersby on the street. We have all of them down at the station right now, but no one’s gonna be able to give us anything.”

“Any ideas?” Megan asked.

“It wasn’t a drive-by”, Hope said. “Most likely M.O. was a sniper, maybe somewhere on one of the rooftops across or down the street, judging by the angle at which the victims were hit.”

Ali looked across the street. Most of the buildings immediately across from the restaurant were two story flats. Any bodyguard who is any good would have spotted someone with a rifle there, and Ali had busted enough of the Marano family to know that their bodyguards were very good. She looked further down the block across the street in each direction. “Okay, if we go with that theory, then the nearest likely place for a sniper to perch and wait would have been that building right there”, Ali said. She pointed to the nearest taller building, a four-story condo complex halfway down the block. “But, that rooftop has gotta be like three hundred yards away.”  
“Yeah, I know”, Hope replied. “I just don’t see any other way that it could have gone down.”

Megan looked at Hope. “So, who did it? The Disciples? Another family?” The Chicago Disciples were the largest street gang in the city, and the Marano family’s main competition in the distribution of guns and drugs.

“No”, Hope said. She shook her head and looked at Megan. “The Marano family has pretty much swallowed up all of the other crime families here in the city. Even you dingbats at the FBI know that.” Megan rolled her eyes, and Hope turned back to Ali. “As for the Disciples, well, this isn’t their style. They would have waited with automatic weapons in vans across the street, and then they would have sprayed the entire crew as they came out of the restaurant. No, this is something else.”  
Ali thought for a moment and then said, “So…what are you saying, Hope? That we have a new player in the game?” She didn’t like that. This war was already heated enough. Ever since the Marano family had pushed out all of the other mafia families in the city, and the Disciples had consolidated all of street gangs under one umbrella, the conflict had escalated to a whole new level. No longer was it small packs of hoodlums engaging in street fights and petty crime. This was two large factions engaged in full-scale battle. Pretty soon, Ali feared, it would come to an all-out war between the two factions, and there would be a lot of dead bodies caught in the crossfire.

“I don’t know”, Hope said. “I don’t know if we have a new player.” She paused for a second and then said, “But I can tell you this. Whoever did this is a professional.” She looked at Ali and said, “I’ll be in touch. Feel free to hit me up if you need anything.” She then blew a part flirtatious/part condescending air kiss towards Megan and then turned around and walked away.

“That fuckin’ woman”, Megan said and made a ball with her fist. “I swear, sometimes I don’t know if I want to hit that…or hit that, ifyaknowutimsayin’,” she said, pumping her fist in the air and gyrating her hips slightly.

“Jesus, Pinoe. Really?” Ali said, then shook her head slightly and smiled at her partner’s ridiculousness. “C’mon, let’s have a look around.”

 

********

 

“So, this is where the assassin may have been”, Ali said. She and Megan were standing on the rooftop of the four-story building that Ali had pointed out earlier when they were talking with Hope. The access door to the rooftop had been jammed when they had arrived, and she and Megan had to bust it open.  
“Kriegs, do you really think a sniper sat up here and then took out two of the top guys in the Marano family?” Megan liked to question Ali’s theories. Ali often spun off on wild theories, and Megan saw it as her job to rein Ali in. It bothered Ali sometimes that Megan was always questioning, but it had developed into a good dynamic of check and balance.

“I don’t know”, Ali said, “but Hope is right. There are no other families around anymore to challenge the Marano’s, and I agree with her that, if this had been the Disciples, they would have sprayed the entire restaurant with bullets when the Italians came out. Plus", she looked at Megan, "Why was the door jammed shut when we got up here? It was as if someone came up here and then jammed the door so they wouldn't be disturbed."

Megan shrugged. “Maybe it was jammed because two hotties were up here earlier today, gettin’ down under the summer sun.” Megan laughed at her own words, and Ali rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, seriously, it could have been a sniper. But, then the question is – why, Kriegs? What is a sniper doing capping wiseguys in Chicago? I mean, snipers take out high profile terrorists in faraway places, right? Not mafia guys in a big city.”

“I don’t know, Pinoe. I seriously have no idea what’s going on here”, Ali said. She took out a flashlight and scoured the rooftop. She squatted near the edge and looked over. She could see the restaurant half a block down. It was over a thousand feet away, but Ali’s brother Kyle had served in the Army, and she knew from him that nailing a target at that range was definitely possible for a good shooter. From here, it would have been a clean shot. No one on the street would have seen him. Or her. Ali stared for a moment longer and tried to imagine how it would have all happened. Then, she looked at the ground. She was about to stand up when something caught her eye. She shined her flashlight on the ground and saw it. Something glimmered in the light. At first she thought it was a thin gold chain, but then she took a closer look. It was a piece of long blond hair. She stared at it for a moment and then shined her flashlight again onto the ground. Nothing else. She looked at the hair in her hand. Probably nothing, she thought. A hair from some tenant who was sunbathing on the roof. It was July in Chicago, after all, and Chicagoans loved to sunbathe in the three months that this city actually had warm weather.

“Find something?” Megan asked.

“Maybe”, Ali said. She put the piece of hair in her pocket, then stood up and walked towards Megan. “Let’s go back to the office”, she said. “I want to run something by you.” She and Megan went back down to the street, got in their car, and headed towards JOCT headquarters, 5 minutes away in downtown Chicago.


	3. Chapter 3

Ashlyn was relaxing in her whirlpool bathtub. Her head was back and her eyes were closed. She was drifting, somewhere in that place between sleep and consciousness. In her dreamlike thoughts she was a child, sitting on the beach between her parents. It was a beautiful day, her mother had packed a picnic, and the family was staring out onto the water as they ate. Ashlyn was smiling and was halfway through her sandwich when two men walked up to her family. They were wearing Italian cut suits. One of them smiled at her, and then pulled out a gun…

Ashlyn’s eyes popped open as she started awake. Her hand instinctually went for the 9mm on the nearby toilet seat, and she looked around quickly for a moment. She took a deep breath and then looked at the clock in the bathroom. It was close to midnight. She had arrived home over an hour ago from Little Italy. Everything had gone according to plan. She closed her eyes and went back to drifting, and her thoughts took her back to when it had all started. She was living with her grandmother and about to graduate from an elite high school in a wealthy Chicago suburb. It had been a year since the tragedy that had struck her family had occured. She had inherited a large sum of money and could have done anything with her life, but she found herself meandering through college classes, searching for meaning and purpose in her life. That search soon lead her to the army. She dropped out of college, enlisted in boot camp, and then went through basic combat training. Her journey took a shot in the arm when an instructor suggested she consider trying out for the Army’s Special Forces. Ashlyn signed on and undertook the grueling six month course to become qualified to don the Green Beret. The training was every bit as intense as she had heard it would be. Tracking and surveillance. Hand to hand combat. Advance weapon tactics. Explosives and demolitions. Electronics and circuitry. Sniper training. Ashlyn was in good shape from her days as a varsity soccer player in high school, but the training pushed her beyond what she had ever thought she could achieve physically. What surprised Ashlyn the most, however, was that, even more than being physical, the training was largely psychological. As the army’s experts in unconventional warfare, the Special Forces are trained first and foremost in problem solving. Unlike the enlisted soldiers in the regular army who follow specific sets of orders, Special Forces operators learn from day one that nothing goes according to plan. Working in small teams, they are taught to solve problems on the fly and improvise in the field. Ashlyn learned to think on her feet and react instantly to any situation. The ability to do that, coupled with the myriad of skills that she had learned, made her one of the deadliest soldiers the U.S. Army has ever produced.

Ashlyn opened her eyes. Yes, she thought. The army trained me well. She had been honorably discharged just under two years ago, after spending six years serving in the Special Forces, operating in some of the most unforgiving environments in the world. Since being discharged, she had worked non-stop on her plan, to eliminate the criminal underworld of Chicago and make the city a safer place. She had briefly considered joining the police force, but after serving in the Special Forces, she doubted that she would be well suited in an organization mired in procedures and hampered by due process. Justice needs to be served, and bad people need to be punished, whether or not the law can provide that. She relaxed for another minute, then stood up and got out of the bathtub. She dried herself off and then put on a pair of jeans and a tank top that hugged the curves of her chiseled physique. She walked into her granite-countertopped kitchen and poured a glass of water from the Brita filter in the sub-zero fridge. Her condo was on the second floor of a refurbished building in Chicago’s north side Lincoln Park neighborhood. It was a nice, modern condo, and it was paid in full. The only benefit to the tragedy, Ashlyn thought – I have money and don’t need to work. Not that I would have ever traded that for what happened, but as it stands, I can concentrate on what really matters – my mission. Coincidentally, her condo was located not far from where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, the most infamous mob-related slayings in Chicago, had occurred. The coincidence of her condo's location, and the irony that she was waging a one-woman war against organized crime in Chicago, was not lost on Ashlyn.

Ashlyn took a sip of water and then stepped out onto the balcony. The warm summer nighttime air blew across her face. She looked up and down the street, taking in the sights of Lincoln Avenue after midnight. Even on a Sunday people were out and about. Lincoln Park was one of the hippest areas in Chicago for young people, and crowds of twenty-and-thirty somethings caroused the bars seven nights a week. Ashlyn’s eyes roamed the street, and her gaze settled on a couple, maybe late twenties or early thirties, holding hands, one girl walking slightly in front of the other as they strolled down the street. The girl in the back said something and smiled, and the girl in front laughed and leaned her head back slightly. The girl in back leaned forward, and the couple kissed as they stopped in front of a bar. It would be nice, Ashlyn thought, to have someone in my life like that. She flashed back to when she had first experienced romantic feelings, dating boys in junior high, then making that discovery in high school and dating girls instead. She had withdrawn from social interaction after the tragedy, but had tried again in college, and she thought about what could have been considered her first and only real girlfriend. That hadn’t lasted long, she thought with a shake of her head, and then she thought about her mission, and the whole reason she had joined the army, to acquire the skills she would need to successfully pull it off. Nothing could get in the way of success, she told herself. She couldn’t have any distractions. At least not right now. Maybe when she was done, she would open herself up to exploring a more personal part of life - love.

Ashlyn looked out onto the street for a few more minutes and then finished her glass of water and went inside. She put the glass in the sink and then turned on the TV to WGN news. A reporter was talking about the shootings that had taken place on Taylor Street earlier in the evening. She was dubbing it a possible “all-out mafia versus gang war”, and she was interviewing the special agent in charge of the investigation. Ashlyn stared at the screen. The agent was a stunning brunette, with long hair and a laser-like focus in her brown eyes. The graphics across the screen identified her as Special Agent Ali Krieger, Joint Organized Crime Taskforce. Ashlyn knew about JOCT, the new government agency in charge of coordinating the fight against organized crime between federal and local law enforcement groups. She smiled slightly, thinking that JOCT should put her on their payroll, maybe as an unidentified contractor. Not that she needed the money, but the thought still made her smile. I’m getting rid of bad guys for you, she mused. Ashlyn tuned back in as Special Agent Krieger spoke into the reporter’s microphone:

“...we want a Chicago where law-abiding citizens can leave their homes without fear of being subjected to a violent crime. Our goal is to eliminate crime and make Chicago a safer place for everyone, and we won’t stop pursuing the criminal elements in this city until we do…”

Ashlyn took in what the agent said, and slowly nodded her head. I’m in agreement with you, Special Agent Beautiful. But, you’re moving too slow. That’s why I’m not stopping either. She turned off the TV and headed into her bedroom. As she went to turn off the light, she looked at the photo on her dresser. She was eight years old, and she was with her mother and father. They were sitting on the beach, having a picnic. Ashlyn looked at the photo and thought what she always thought every time she looked at the photo: I love you guys and miss you, and I promise to make the world a safer place, so nothing like what happened to us will ever happen to anyone else. A tear formed in her eye, and she wiped it away. Then she turned off the light, and crawled into bed and thought. She had been out of the Special Forces for two years now, and had been meticulously planning ever since, researching, tracking, and coming up with ways to eliminate both the Marano family and the Chicago Disciples. Any other criminals she came across would be eliminated as well. And, she was close to being done. Maybe a month or so away, and then maybe, just maybe, she could rest, knowing that she had done what she could. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and fell into a light asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The Chicago office of JOCT was located in the same building as the FBI’s Chicago office, in the Federal Building on south Dearborn in downtown Chicago. Ali and Megan walked into JOCT headquarters and headed for Ali’s office. They were about to enter when Ali heard a familiar voice.

“Krieger”, the voice came from behind her.

Ali closed her eyes and swore under her breath. The voice belonged to Mary A. Wambach, head of the Chicago office of JOCT and her direct supervisor. Ali got along well with Wambach, but the fact that she was in the office at 11pm on a Sunday night meant that something wasn’t good. She turned around and smiled. “Hi boss, how’s your Sunday night going?”

“I want to see you in my office. Now.”

Ali sighed. “Okey Dokey.” She turned to Megan. “Wait in my office. I’ll be right there.” Megan gave her a mocking scared look and a “good luck” thumbs up and went into her office. Ali entered Wambach’s office and closed the door.

“So, boss, you’re here late. Need some privacy while you catch up on Dawson’s Creek reruns without Sarah around?” Ali quipped. “I mean, Katie Holmes…damn! I’d definitely take a swim in that cree-“

“Alright Krieger, cut it out”, Wambach said, as she took a seat. “What the hell happened down there tonight?”

Ali dropped the charade and turned serious. “Alberto Costello and Vincenzo Pazzarelli got hit.”

“I know who got hit, Krieger. I want to know what happened. Who did it, and why and how.”

“I don’t know. Detective Solo thinks it may have been a sniper. Two taps, one to each victim.”

“A sniper?" Wambach asked and raised an eyebrow. "Okay…who sent the sniper?”

“We don’t know.”

“Okay, if this was a sniper, how did he do it?”

“It could have been a she”, Ali said, and Wambach frowned. “And we don’t know, but maybe he or she hid on the rooftop of one of the buildings across the street.”

“What?!" Wambach was incredulous. "Krieger, I know that street. The nearest building to the restaurant that would work for a sniper is a condo building halfway down the fuckin’ block. You’re telling me that a sniper sat up there, waited for these guys to come out of the restaurant, and then whacked both of them from a thousand feet away with just two shots, while they were sequestered amidst six security guards that are bigger than the offensive line for the Chicago Bears?”

“Uh, we don’t know, boss, but that’s a possibility.”

“Okayyyyyy…” Wambach rolled on, “And when is the last time that either the mob or a street gang hired a sniper?”

“Uh, don’t know that either, boss.”

Wambach pounded her fist on her desk. “Well, what do you know? I mean, so far, you, Solo, and that FBI girl Pinoe...Pinhead...whatever the fuck, have come up with one theory that sounds like Jason Bourne hit these guys. Please tell me you have something more solid than this.”

“Uh, nope. At least not right now.” Ali shrugged. She felt bad, not being able to give her boss anything more, but at the same time she was trying not to laugh. Seeing Wambach get upset reminded her of when her teachers in high school would become upset at students throwing pencils around the room or doing anything other than paying attention. For some reason, that had always made her laugh.

Wambach put her head in her hands and sighed. Then she looked up at Ali. “Look, Ellis just called me like twenty minutes ago and fucking reamed my ass.” Jill Ellis was the Director of JOCT, and Wambach’s boss. “The press is having a field day with this. They’re dubbing it an "all-out mafia versus gang war". They’re drawing parallels to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Ellis wants this thing wrapped up quickly, and, as much as she and I disagree sometimes, I’m actually with her on that. The last thing we need is for this city to panic, thinking that their beloved hometown is turning into a war zone. You know what’s gonna happen if people start thinking that? Law enforcement will lose the public’s confidence, and then we’re gonna have everyday citizens going out, buying guns, and taking matters into their own hands.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it boss. Wrap it up quick, I know.”

Wambach stood up. “Krieger – you’re the best JOCT agent we have in this city. Get control of this before it spirals into chaos, find the shooter or shooters, and put them behind bars.”

“Thanks, boss,” Ali said. “No pressure there.” She started to leave and then turned around. “Can I do anything else for you while I’m at it? Maybe get you a cup of coffee? Or maybe a sandwich?”

“Out. Get to work,” Wambach said and pointed to the door. Ali gave her a mock salute and then left for her office.

 

********

 

“How was your chat with Wombat?” Megan asked as Ali walked into her office. Megan didn't like Wambach. The feeling was mutual. Good thing those two didn't have to work together much, Ali thought. She looked at Megan and rolled her eyes. “That good, huh?” Megan said.

“I don’t wanna talk about it”, Ali said. “She's on edge right now. Ellis called her and threw the heat on her, so she just threw the heat on me. Look, I’m tired, so let’s just review what we know, and then I’m going home for the night.”

“Okay”, Megan said. “So, if we’re sticking with the lone sniper theory, which, the more I think about it, actually seems plausible…well, then, this person could be anyone.”

“No”, Ali said. “Not just anyone. First and foremost, this person is well trained. Think about it: the sniper was three hundred yards away, shooting at night time. First off, you need a certain kind of weapon to make that kind of shot, and not many people know how to use that kind of a weapon. Secondly, you need serious skills to make that shot. He or she had maybe five seconds to get two shots off, before their targets were in the cars, which, by the way, I’m sure are bullet proof. Plus, the targets were surrounded by bodyguards the size of houses.”

“Okay, I’m following you on all of that”, Megan said.

“Also, think about it – the sniper wasn’t there by chance tonight. He or she knew that Costello and Pazzarelli were going to be there tonight, eating dinner at Salvatore’s. The sniper probably knew that those two dined there every Sunday night. The only way that the sniper would have known that was through tracking and surveillance. That kind of tracking and surveillance would have taken at least a few months to establish that pattern. Also, this sniper knew the best building to set up on. In addition, this sniper would have needed to know who his victims were. Like, we know who Costello and Pazzarelli are, but we’re in law enforcement. Those guys aren’t exactly household names. If we go with the fact that this sniper isn’t related to either the mafia or a gang, then that means that whoever this is knows how to do some research, and maybe even crack a law enforcement database, which suggests that he or she knows a thing or two about computers.”

“Right. Okay”, Megan agreed. “So, where are you going with all of this?”

Ali thought for a moment and then looked at Megan. “Where I’m going with this is that…this person is a pro. And there’s really only one place you learn to execute like that, and that's in the military. If I were to guess, our sniper is either army or marines. Those are the two branches that produce the best snipers. And”, Ali said while digging in her pocket, “I’m betting it’s the army. More specifically, Army Special Forces.”

“What makes you say that?” Megan asked, and thought: here goes Ali, spiraling into another wild theory again…

“Because I found this”, Ali said, and pulled out the hair that she had found on the rooftop.

“Is that…a…hair?” Megan asked, pulling up closer to take a look.

“Yup. It’s a hair. A long hair, and a fine hair, so it’s probably from a woman.”

“Okay…” Megan said. “Keep going…”

“I found it on the rooftop, right near the edge. It’s possible the sniper had been lying there. Also, in case you don’t know, the army is the only branch of our military that currently allows women to serve in special units. Both the Rangers and the Special Forces started letting women join around ten years ago. The Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics and Marine Force Recon haven’t adopted the policy yet, which personally I think is dumb, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, within the army, snipers usually serve in the Special Forces, not the Rangers. The Rangers fight more direct action, close quarter combat. Sniping falls under the umbrella of unconventional warfare, which is what the Special Forces are trained for.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“My brother Kyle served in the army.”

“Okay”, Megan said. “So, just say you’re right, and we have an army, or maybe an ex-army Special Forces soldier, who knows how to track targets, perform surveillance, work a computer, and squeeze off multiple kill shots from three hundred yards away. The question I have is – who and why? I mean, if this person is not from another mafia family, and is not gang-affiliated, then who is this person, and why are they doing this?”

Ali looked at Megan. “I don’t know. I honestly have no clue, and I couldn't even hazard a guess right now. But”, she said, as she stood up and yawned, “we are gonna find out.”

“Alrighty”, Megan said, as she got up from her chair. “I’m followin’ your lead on this one.” She looked at Ali and winked.

Ali smiled and then said, “Let’s call it a night.” “The two of them walked out of the building together and got into their respective cars.

“See you tomorrow morning”, Megan said. “I’ll come by around 9, and we can draw up a plan.”

“Sounds good”, Ali said. She got into her car and drove home.

 

********

 

Ali arrived home ten minutes later at her apartment in the Pilsen neighborhood, just south of downtown Chicago. She took off her jacket and shoes and then went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. She was bone-tired and needed some sleep, but she was too wound up to hit the sack just yet, so she popped the top, took a swig, and then wandered into the living room. She thought about turning on the TV, but as she reached for the remote, he eye fell on the photo of her mother, her father, and her brother. Her brother lived a mile away, just down Halsted Street. Ali looked at her mother and father and a tear formed in her eye as she thought about the tragedy that had befallen her family. It was a senseless tragedy, caused by someone doing something stupid, not following the law. Laws need to be followed, Ali thought. Laws need to be followed, or bad things happen, so she had committed her life to enforcing the law. I miss you, Mom and Dad, she thought. She stared at the photo for another moment, and then she went out onto her balcony. Warm summer air blew across her face. She looked up and down Halsted, and her eyes settled on a young couple coming out of a bar. They were holding hands and laughing. The girl on the left leaned sideways and kissed the girl on the right, and the girl on the right giggled and nuzzled her head into the neck of the girl on the left. It must be nice, Ali thought, to have someone in your life like that. She wondered if she could balance a relationship and a career in law enforcement, with its crazy hours. It may be possible, she thought. It would just have to be with someone really understanding, who believed in what I was doing. Ali sighed, finished her beer, and went back inside. She laid down in her bed and her thoughts turned to the case. Who was this mystery shooter? What had brought him or her in? How had he or she pulled this off? And why was it that, more and more, I’m starting to get the gut feeling the shooter is a woman? Too much to comprehend right now, Ali thought as she shut her eyes. Right now, I just need some sleep. She let her thoughts wander for a few more minutes and then drifted into dreamland.


	5. Chapter 5

Ashlyn was in her apartment, getting ready for tonight. Five days had passed since she had taken out the mafia guys outside of Salvatore’s, and tonight, she was going out again. She mused to herself about how ‘getting ready’ meant something so much different for her than it probably did for every other woman who was getting ready in her building right now. She had assembled and dismantled her rifle twice in the last hour, checking every last piece, then packed it in her soft over-the-shoulder rifle case, along with some ammo, a grey long sleeve button down shirt, a pair of black leather pants, a black leather vest, and a dark grey fedora hat. She had donned her all-black tactical outfit and stuffed the 9MM in a holster at her side. Her tactical knife went into a sheath near her right ankle. She sat down at her computer desk. Two more hours, then I leave. A thought crossed her mind, and she fired up her laptop. It was a thought that had crossed her mind many times in the last week: Special Agent Ali Krieger. Special Agent Beautiful. She found the JOCT website, then brought up a separate hackers screen, entered a bunch of code, and she was in.

 

********

 

Ali and Megan were sitting in Ali’s office when Hope walked in. “What do you know, guys?” she asked. It was 10pm. Another late night.

“A couple things”, Ali said. She had filled in Hope on her thoughts about the Salvatore’s incident being carried out by an ex-Army Special Forces sniper, and Hope agreed it was a possibility. Ali also told Hope about the hair she had found. In addition, she had two other things to show both Hope and Megan. “Come on, follow me.” She lead Hope and Megan down the hallway and into the JOCT crime labs. They went first to database room. A young tech named Amy Rodriguez was working the station.

“So, we ran the hair follicle I found, and we came up with this”, Ali said. She motioned to Amy, and she pulled up the screen. “As you can see, there’s a match. But, as you can also see, the match is classified.”

Hope looked at the screen and then looked at Ali and Megan. “What the hell is this? Classified?”

“It means that there’s no data about the person to whom this hair belongs in any regular civilian database – FBI, DEA, DMV, local law enforcement. None of them”, Megan said.

“Which means, the shooter may be military”, Ali said. “I’d love to check the army databases, but we’d have a hell of a time getting clearance for that, especially to special ops personnel.”

“Okay, so what else do you have?” Hope asked.

“We’re going to the tape room. Thanks, ARod”, Ali said, calling Amy by her nickname. Amy nodded, and Ali lead Megan and Hope down another hallway to another lab. This one had monitors all over the wall. A young woman named Heather O’Reilly was monitoring the station.

“So”, Ali started. “I got to thinking about the surveillance for the Salvatore’s hit. Now, it’s possible that all of the surveillance by the sniper was done outside of the restaurant, but a really good sniper would have wanted to take a look inside. So, going off the premise that our shooter knew that her victims dined at Salvatore’s every Sunday, I theorized that she may have actually wanted to case the joint herself.”

“Wait”, Megan said, “Are you sure it’s a she?”

“I’m getting to that”, Ali said. “Just pay attention. Now, there are street light cameras to catch speeders and red light runners at the stoplight just west of Salvatore’s. So, I asked Heather here to tap into the camera facing Salvatore's and pull all off the footage between 6-11pm for every Sunday evening for the last three months. Let me tell you - it’s been a lot of fun going through it all, but we came up with this.” Ali had Heather hit play on one of the monitors. The view street light camera provided a clear view of the front of Salvatore’s. “This is the Sunday before the hit. Look. Timestamp is 6:42. And there she is”, Ali said. Hope and Megan watched the screen as a tall, attractive blonde in a sharp, form-fitting suit walked into frame from the far side of the camera. As she came into view, she turned her head slightly to the side, away from the camera. She walked up to the restaurant and entered the front door. “That’s our unsub”, Ali said. Unknown Subject.

“She’s hot”, Megan said. “But that doesn’t make her the killer. I mean, killer body, but-“

“Focus, Pinhead”, Hope said to Megan, then turned to Ali. “So?”

“So, keep looking.” Heather scrolled through the footage at high speed until they got to 6:59pm. She slowed it down, and right at 7pm, two Mercedes Sedans pulled up, and Costello and Pazzarelli exited along with six of their bodyguards.

“So, the woman walks into the restaurant, and then 18 minutes later, the Italian crew walks in. So?” Hope asked again.

“Okay – watch”, Ali said. She had Heather fast forward the tape to 9:41. The Mercedes Sedans arrived at the front of the restaurant. At 9:42, the Italian crew exited the restaurant and got into the cars and drove off. At 9:48, the woman emerged from the restaurant, alone. As she did, she again turned her head slightly away from the camera and then walked away, out of frame.

“So, hot blonde comes into restaurant. She’s in there for three hours and then leaves”, Hope looked at Ali. “So?” she said again for the third time.

“So this", Ali said. "This woman with blonde hair, the same color hair I found on the rooftop, comes to the restaurant, dressed up for dinner. As she comes into frame of the speeding/red light camera, she deliberately turns her head, almost like she is worried about a camera catching her image. Normal people out for dinner wouldn't do that. She enters the restaurant at 6:42. The Italians enter right at 7. Between the time she enters and the time the Italians show up, only four other people show up – two sets of couples. Now, this woman is in there for almost three hours. Since she didn’t show up with anyone, and no one showed up to meet her, she probably dined alone. Who the hell dines alone in a restaurant for three hours? Then, the Italians leave, and then she leaves just a few minutes later. Alone. If she had met someone there for dinner, they would have left together, right? As she leaves, she is careful not to look in the direction of the street camera. Then she walks the other way.”

“Okay”, Megan chimed in. “So, what’s the bottom line, Kriegs?”

“The bottom line is that this woman is the shooter”, Ali stated. “She ate dinner in a restaurant alone for almost three hours, so she could case the joint and get a feel for her targets and their coverage. She showed up just before they arrived, and she left right after they departed. She knew there was a camera at the intersection near the restaurant, and she took care to avoid having it capture her face.” Ali looked at Hope, and Hope nodded. Then she looked at Megan, who was more convinced than before but still dubious. “I’m telling you guys, it’s her" Ali said. "I don’t know how I know, but I do.”

“Okay, so, if this woman is the shooter, than what do we do next?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know”, Ali said. “I mean, we could try to subpoena army personnel records, but the army probably won’t play nice. They take care of their own, especially their special ops personnel.”

“Well, shit. We’ve got a hot blonde with a killer body and a partial face print in a city of ten million people”, Megan said. “I don’t know where to begin.”

The three of them were silent for a moment, and then Hope’s cell rang. She put it to her ear. “Solo”, she said. She listened for a moment and then looked up at Ali and Megan. “Where at?” She paused for another moment. “Alright, we’re on our way.”

“What’s going on?” Ali asked.

“Three Disciples just got whacked outside of Mother’s nightclub on Division Street.” Hope looked at Ali and Megan. “They all took single shots to the head.”

“Shit”, Ali said. She looked at her watch. It was 10:37pm. “Let’s go.” The three of them bolted out of the building, jumped in Hope’s car and sped off.

 

********

 

Ali, Megan, and Hope pulled up five minutes later. The local police had already cordoned off the area. Hope shook hands with the sergeant in charge and introduced Ali and Megan. “What do we got, Sarge?” Hope started in. 

“Ramon Cruz, Jason Chang, and DeShawn Williams”, the sergeant said. “All three of them shot once in the head as they exited the club.”

“Yup, I know all three of them. Well, knew all three of them”, Hope said. “I’ve busted all of these guys before, multiple times. They were all high ranking members of the Chicago Disciples.” Hope looked around. Busy area. Bars on both sides of the street. She turned to Ali and Megan. “Thoughts?”

“Single shots to the head – it could be the same shooter”, Ali said. “What else do you know?” A large crowd had started to gather, and the press was already on the scene.

The sergeant looked at Ali. “We spoke to the club manager and the doorman. This club is a regular Disciple hangout. These guys were in here every week."

“Let me guess. Same night? This night? Every week?” Ali asked.

“Yep, that’s right”, the sergeant confirmed.

Christ, Ali thought. The shooter had stalked and eliminated them, and then vanished into thin air. It was like chasing a ghost. She looked across the street. As with Taylor Street, Division Street was lined with bars and restaurants in mostly two flat buildings. Ali looked further down the block in each direction. She spotted a bank about a block west. The top of the building was three stories tall. Division was more crowded than Taylor, and it would have been a tough shot, especially with other people around besides your targets, but a pro could have done it. She looked at Megan, and she seemed to be guessing her thoughts.

“You think the shooter might have perched there?” Megan asked and pointed to the top of the bank building.

“Maybe”, Ali said. “I’m going to go check it out. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Ali took off for the building while Hope and Megan continued to work the club personnel and pedestrian witnesses. She went around back and found the fire escape, then climbed up it three floors and ended up on the roof. She walked to the ledge and peered over, half a block down and across the street to the club. It was similar to the shot at Salvatore’s. Ali took out her flashlight and shined it on the ground. She walked the perimeter of the roof and was about to start looking at the middle of the roof when she froze. There, on the ground, near the ledge, was another piece of hair. She picked it up and held it up to the light. It was the same length and color as the hair she had found on the rooftop near Salvatore’s. Something weird is happening here, she thought, and then an involuntary chill ran down her spine. She stuffed the hair into her pocket and then quickly withdrew her gun. She dropped into a shooter’s stance and pivoted a quick 360. Nothing. She slowed her breathing and holstered her gun, then went down and rejoined Hope and Megan.

“Find anything?” Hope said.

“Nope, nothing”, Ali lied.

“Well, I’ve got about all I’m gonna get down here.” Hope said. “C’mon – I’ll drop you guys back off at the Fed building.” The three of them got in Hope’s car and drove back downtown.

 

********

 

After she had shot the three Disciples, Ashlyn had hightailed it down from the bank building. She had landed in an alley behind the bank. She changed her pants and was changing her shirt when a group of drunk girls stumbled up behind her. They caught her naked from the waist up, and their jaws dropped. Before they could say anything, Ashlyn put on her drunk voice and said, “Oh my Gawd, I’m sooooo drunk, and I like totally spilled a drink all over my shirt.” She looked at the drunk girls as she finished pulling her grey tank top on, and smiled the ‘I’m-so-drunk-I-spilled-my-drink” smile. The girls, now making sense of what happened, empathized with her, saying things like, “Oh don’t worry girl, we’ve all done it”, and then walked on. Ashlyn waited for them to pass, then ducked down a sidestreet where she had parked her car and put her rifle case in the trunk.

Standing at her car, Ashlyn had a thought. She really should get out of here right now. What she was going to do next was risky. But, for all of her training and discipline, she just couldn’t help it. She threw on her black vest and her fedora, shut her trunk, and then headed back to the street. She stood across from the bank and a couple stores down towards the club, keeping her head lowered so the fedora shielded her face. She took out her cellphone and pretended to talk on it, giggling every few minutes to make the conversation look real. She hung up her phone, lit a cigarette, and was pretending to smoke it, when she saw the first cop cars and ambulance pull up. A minute later, she saw the Ford Sedan screech to a halt, and out stepped Special Agent Beautiful and her two partners. She stood, watching her talk with the cops, then Ashlyn followed her with her eyes as she went to the bank building and climbed to the top. She lit another cigarette and pulled out her phone again, pretending to text, but all the while trying to watch Special Agent Beautiful as closely as she could. She really was beautiful, Ashlyn thought. And more than that, there was something else. She was a good person. A moral person. She wanted bad guys gone and good people to be safe. When Ashlyn had heard Special Agent Beautiful talk in the interview about wanting to rid Chicago of violent crime, she really believed it, and she really had felt a connection. That's what I want too, Ashlyn had thought. She stole a glance up and watched as Special Agent Beautiful appeared to be searching the rooftop with her flashlight and then freezing when she discovered what Ashlyn assumed to be the piece of hair that she had left for her to find. Leaving hair at the Salvatore’s hit had been an accident, but after coming home and seeing the hair caught in her ponytail band, she knew that she had dropped hair on the rooftop. Not to worry, she thought to herself, since it was unlikely that any civilian organization would be able to trace that to her, but when she saw Special Agent Beautiful later that night on TV, a thought had occurred to her. It was crazy, but for some reason tonight, she wanted to leave Special Agent Beautiful a clue to her identity. It was almost like she wanted Special Agent Beautiful to find her, to discover her, to seek her out and join forces with her. She had a quick fantasy about the two of them joining forces to rid the world of criminals, falling in love in the process. It doesn’t matter that she’s a law enforcement agent and that I’m fighting crime on my own, does it? We both want the same thing, right? Ashlyn snapped back to the present as she heard Special Agent Beautiful come back from the bank building and approach her partners. She looked at the three of them talking. None of them noticed her, standing a hundred feet away, with the rest of the crowd that had gathered. Then, she heard the tall, muscular brunette say, “C’mon – I’ll drop you guys back off at the Fed building.” She saw the three of them get in their car and drive off. Time to go, she thought. She waited for their car to turn a corner, then hustled to her car down the block. She got in, fired up the engine, and headed for the Federal Building.


	6. Chapter 6

Hope dropped Ali and Megan off at the Federal building. Megan headed to the FBI office, and Ali headed back to JOCT headquarters. She went immediately to the database room and found Amy, who was still pouring through data.

“A-Rod”, she said as she approached.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I need you to run a scan on this real quick." Ali handed Amy the hair she had found on top of the bank building. "I need to know if this belongs to the same person as the hair I gave you last week.”

“Alright, can you give me thirty minutes?” Amy asked.

“Sure can. Thanks.” Ali left Amy and went down to the tape room. Heather was still there.

“HAO”, Ali called out as she approached.

“Hey, Kriegs, back to view more footage?”

“Actually, yes. I need to look at something. Pull up the west facing traffic camera on Division at the Rush Street intersection. I need all of the video for a week ago from today, from 9-11pm.”

“Okay…” Heather said, as she went to work. “Here…we…go.” She pushed a button and the feed came up on a monitor.

“Okay, scroll faster. What I’m looking for is the blonde that was in the footage from Taylor Street. I want to see if she scoped out this nightclub last week, a week ago from tonight.”

“Gotcha.” Heather went to work scrolling through footage. “This may take a bit”, she said. You want a cup of coffee?”

“Uh, sure”, Ali said. She got up out of her seat and went to a table on the other side of the room. She poured herself a cup and was taking her first sip, when Heather called her back. “Kriegs – I think I got something here”. Ali took a seat next to Heather as the latter pointed at the screen. “Take a look.” Heather let it play, and Ali watched as the three recently deceased Disciples and their entourage of fellow hoodlums entered the club. Two minutes later, an attractive blonde wearing tight black leather pants, dress boots and a white button-up shirt with a dark blue tie entered the frame, facing away from camera. Ali noticed when the blonde turned towards camera to hand the bouncer her ID, she purposely looked down and away from camera, and a chill ran down Ali’s spine. Heather looked at Ali. “Thoughts?”

“Ummm…might be her, but tough to say. Let’s keep playing. Let’s get to the point when the Disciples exit the club.” Heather nodded her head and scrolled through the footage. She came up to 10:30pm, and the three Disciples and their entourage exited the club. Two minutes later, the blonde came out.

“Freeze”, Ali said. “Back up…just a bit…stop.” Ali looked at the image on the screen. The blonde was facing camera. Not looking right at it, but close enough to get a clear shot of her face. “HAO – can you push in and enhance this image?” Ali asked. Heather did so, and Ali stared at the screen. The woman looked to be in her late twenties, maybe thirty. Her long blonde hair was parted to the left. The woman had a striking look – strong features and penetrating eyes. Ali stared at the image. She’s beautiful, Ali thought.

“Do you want a printout of this?” Heather asked. When Ali didn’t respond, Heather said, “Kriegs?”

“Huh? Oh - no, no, I’m good, thanks.” It’s not like I’m going to forget that face, Ali thought. She thanked Heather and then went back to Alex. She came in just as Amy was calibrating a match. “What do you have, A-Rod?”

“Just…one…more…moment…and…there!” Amy said. She pulled up the results and put them side by side.

Ali looked at the screen. “Are you sure?” she asked Amy.

“Yes. I’m sure”, Amy said. “Computer says we have a match. The hair you found last week and the hair you found tonight belong to the same person.”

Ali exhaled slowly. She thanked Amy, and then left the building and got into her car. She drove towards home and was about to park in her garage when she had a sudden urge to get a beer. She took a sharp right and headed to a bar she liked about half a mile from her house. She was thinking hard about what she had just been told and seen, and she was too lost in thought to notice that a black Mustang had followed her from the Federal building and had just made the same sharp right turn.


	7. Chapter 7

Ali was nursing a beer at Marangos Pub. There were about twenty other patrons in the small bar. She was sitting in her usual spot towards the far end of the bar, drinking a beer and thinking about the case. The blonde – it had to be her. She’s beautiful. Wait – stay on track, Ali thought to herself. Don’t get distracted. The blonde - it had to be her. She had been at both crime scenes. Ali knew because of the hair and the traffic cameras. Of course, it could have been coincidence that a blonde woman with hair the same color that Ali had found at both locations happened to be at both locations at the exact time the targets were there, and exactly a week before they were killed, but she doubted it.

Ali took another sip of her beer and continued thinking. Hope was right. This woman was a pro. The way she carried herself, the way she avoided looking at the traffic cameras, the way she scoped out the areas, arrived slightly earlier than her targets, and then leaving just after they left. The way she waited patiently to take her shots. These were all signs of a professional. And, of course, the way she made one-shot kills at three hundred yards. That was pretty indicative of being a professional, too. She’s beautiful, Ali thought again. C’mon, Kriegs, she thought to herself again. Stay focused.

As Ali continued to think about the case, she wondered who this woman was, and why she was killing criminals. And not just any criminals. These were apex criminals in the Chicago crime underworld. To not be affiliated with any organization yet be taking on criminals of this stature - this woman must have a serious grudge, or something, Ali thought. Maybe it's personal with her. She continued thinking, and a strange musing entered her head. If I can find her, maybe I’ll put her on the payroll, Ali mused. She’s kind of doing our work for us. I mean, if I could pull the trigger on these criminals, I would, too. But, as soon as she thought about that, another thought entered her head: we’ve got process to follow, and we need to follow it. If we don’t, and we start taking matters into our own hands and pulling the trigger whenever we feel like it, we’re no better than the criminals we go after. But still, Ali thought, it would be nice to not be so mired in bureaucracy. She thought about the blonde mystery woman who seemed to be taking out crime lords on her own accord, and in a small way, Ali envied her. I understand rules and laws, she thought to herself, but still, it would be nice to have the freedom to just take care of business sometimes. And, she’s beautiful, Ali thought for the third time. Christ, Kriegs – can't you stay focused for just one minute? What is it about this woman that has me so distracted right now? She thought. Ali finished her beer and set down the bottle. She was just about to order another one, when Dave the bartender came over and put another one down right in front of her.

“I didn’t order this, Dave”, Ali said.

“No. She ordered it for you”, Dave said. He pointed to the other end of the bar. He and Ali looked over and saw no one there. "Well, there was someone there like a minute ago". Dave shrugged and went back to pouring drinks, and Ali was about to shrug it off when her eye caught a movement past the other end of the bar. She looked up and froze. There was the blonde. She was standing right near the front door, smiling and waving at her. Ali sat and stared for a moment, her thoughts swirling. The blonde – is that really her, or is my mind playing tricks on me? I’ve worked like 100 hours this week, and I’m exhausted, so maybe I’m just seeing things? But, no – it’s really her. She’s really here. What do I do? Do I draw my weapon? I'm sure she's carrying right now. If I draw my weapon, will she draw hers and fire? I know she’s a good shot. Will she get me? Will she shoot everyone else in the bar? There are innocent people in here, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

Ali stared for a moment longer and then started to get up. The blonde, still smiling, put up a warning finger. Ali reached for her gun, and the blonde waved her finger back and forth. Time seemed to slow down for Ali, and then, in one fluid motion, she drew her gun and yelled “Freeze!” The bar went silent. “Everybody down”, Ali screamed. Patrons hit the deck, and the blonde woman twiddled her fingers at Ali and backed out of the front door.

“Fuck!” Ali cursed. She ran towards the front door, which was swinging shut, screamed at Dave to call the cops, then kicked the front door back open and ran out. She scanned the street and saw a shadow to the left, halfway down the block. It was the blonde. She smiled and motioned to Ali to come after her, then turned the corner onto a side street. Ali charged down the block after her, then slowed up as she approached the corner. She listed hard for footsteps or any other noise, but heard nothing. She rounded the corner with her gun at the lead. 

“Boo!” came a voice to her right. Ali pivoted, and as she did, she felt a strong hand grab her right arm. She felt a hand go for her gun, but she kicked out and felt the heel of her boot connect with a kneecap. Her opponent grunted and lessened her grip on Ali’s arm, and Ali shifted her position and brought her knee up to her opponent’s groin. She hit home, but the impact that the move usually had on male opponents wasn’t there, and her opponent pushed Ali’s arms down to her sides and slid behind her so she was now holding Ali from behind, controlling her arms so she couldn’t use her gun. Ali struggled, but her opponent was strong, and as Ali tried to break free, she could feel her opponent’s hot breath on her neck. “Mmmmm…you smell good”, the voice came. 

Ali relaxed, and she felt her opponent relax, and when that happened, Ali, with a last ditched effort, stomped on her opponent’s foot with her heal. Her opponent cursed and let go. Ali spun around and trained her gun on her opponent. “Freeze!” she yelled, and found herself looking straight into the face of the blonde from the bar.

“Damn”, the blonde said. “All I said was that you smell good.” She started to move towards Ali.

“Freeze!” Ali yelled again.

The blonde put her hands up. “Alright, alright. I’m frozen.” She reached down and touched her foot. “Damn…did you really have to stomp on my foot?”

Ali looked at her. Her long blonde hair was down and parted to the left. She was wearing a stylish black leather vest, a grey long sleeve button down shirt, black leather pants and black boots. Ali looked her over for a moment and then said, “Hey! You were on Division Street earlier tonight!”

“I was?” the blonde asked, in mock surprise. She seemed to have recovered from me stomping on her foot, Ali thought. That was quick - I gave it a pretty good stomp. She’s tough. 

“Yes! I saw you. You were wearing a fedora earlier. You were standing about a hundred feet away from me and my partners. You were smoking a cigarette and talking on your cell phone.”

The blonde made a show of thinking and then said, “Oh my God - that was me”, in mock surprise again. She started again towards Ali, but Ali kept her gun trained on her. “Look, you can lower your gun.” When Ali didn’t budge, the blonde said, “There's no need for you to hold me up, here. I’m not a threat to you.” Ali still remained on guard, so the blonde said, "Look – if I wanted to kill you, I would have already done it already.” Ali backed up three feet and kept her gun trained on the blonde. The blonde extended her right hand and said, “My name’s Ashlyn, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Ashlyn", Ali said without taking her hand. "You’re under arrest.”

Ashlyn sighed. “Really?” she said, and raised her eyebrows. "That’s how it's gonna go? ‘You’re under arrest’” she said, repeating Ali.

“I know it’s you”, Ali said. 

“You know _what_ is me?” Ashlyn asked.

“I know you’re the one who killed the two Italian mobsters last week, and also the three Disciples tonight.”

“Hmmm. Interesting. How do you know that?”

“Because I saw you on traffic cameras at both places the weeks before the victims were killed.”

"Wait – you saw me on traffic cameras at both places the weeks before the victims were killed, and that means that it’s me that killed these people?”

“We also found hair at each crime scene. The hair at both crime scenes was the same. Long blonde hair.”

“Oooh. Long blonde hair. Must be me, then", Ashlyn said. She stuck out her wrists to indicate that she was ready to be handcuffed. "Blonde girl ate at a restaurant and went to a club. You better take me in."

“I didn't mention a restaurant or a club."

“I watch the news,” Ashlyn paused and then said, “Special Agent Ali Krieger of the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce.”

“Give up the charade, Blondie. Like I said, I know it’s you.” Ali said in a voice full of law enforcement authority.

“Yup, it was me. I did it. Or actually, it was Professor Plum, in the dining room, with a candlestick”. Ali didn’t budge, so Ashlyn smiled and said, "C'mon - that was funny." Ali still didn't budge, so Ashlyn dropped her smile and said, “So, let me get this straight. You found blonde hair at both crime scenes. You saw me, via traffic cams, at both crime scenes, which, by the way happen to be a popular restaurant and an even more popular club. So, then it has to be me? That’s what you’re going with?”

Ali kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. “You don’t seem very frazzled right now.”

“Should I be?”

“Most people accused of a crime by a federal agent would be freaking out right about now.”

“We’ll, let’s just say I’ve been subjected to a lot worse than spending quality time with a beautiful federal agent", Ashlyn said and winked.

Ali rolled her eyes and kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. Ashlyn took a step closer, and as she did, she and Ali heard the sounds of sirens approaching. Ali looked sideways in the direction of the sirens and then said, “I’m taking you in.”

“Really?” Ashlyn said again, amused.

“Yeah, really. Do you heat those sirens? They’re coming for you, Blondie. As soon as they get here, you’re cooked."

Ashlyn thought for a second and then said, “Okay. So, let’s say you take me in. What are you going to do? Lean on me? Interrogate me? Sick that big ass brunette partner of yours on me to sweat me out? What do you think is going to happen? That I’m going to confess to being some highly trained assassin, maybe, say, ex-Army Special Forces?” Ashlyn smiled.

Ali kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. “How do you know that my theory is that you are a military trained commando?”

“Hmmmm…”, Ashlyn said. “Lucky guess?” Actually, Ashlyn had read Ali's case notes when she had hacked into the JOCT database. When Ali didn’t respond, Ashlyn said, Oh, c’mon – that was funny too. Ali still didn’t respond, just looked over in the direction of the sirens again, so Ashlyn continued. “Okay, so, maybe I’m a ‘military trained assassin’”, she said, making quotation marks with her fingers. “Or, more likely, what will probably happen if you take me in is that you will find that I am your standard late twenties-something woman who has been living off of an inheritance that she got when her parents tragically died, and who works part time as a freelance graphic designer and computer consultant.

“We have your hair.” Ali reminded her.

“Really? You have my hair? Am I the only blonde in this city of say, ten million people?”

“I’m taking you in”, Ali said again. “We’ll test it.”

“You could”, Ashlyn said. “Or, I have another idea. You let me walk away right now, and I will contact you again. Like, soon. When we meet again, I will tell you everything I know.” Ali’s eyes widened, and Ashlyn said, “Well, maybe not _everything_ , but a lot more than you’ll get if you take me in right now.”

Ali eyed her suspiciously. “If I let you go, how do I know you’re going to contact me?”

Ashlyn smiled. “Because, if we go that route, we can set a date right now. How about…tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night?” Ali repeated.

“Tomorrow night”, Ashlyn confirmed. “And…I do mean...a date.” Ali squinted her eyes, and Ashlyn raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. “Do you know where Stefano’s is? On the lakefront?”

“I’ve heard of it”, Ali said. Stefano’s was an expensive steak house in the posh Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. It was rumored to be one of the best restaurants in the city, and proper dress was required.

“Well, let’s say 8pm there. Sound good? By the way, I'm paying, since I asked you out”, Ashlyn said and smiled. Ali didn’t answer. She still had her gun trained on Ashlyn, so Ashlyn said, “I think those sirens are getting closer. You’d better let me know now, Special Agent Beautiful.”

Ali’s eyes widened in disbelief. This woman had some nerve. Or maybe nerves of steel. “What did you just call me?”

“You heard me”, Ashlyn said and smiled. “So, what’s it gonna be, beautiful? A dinner date for both of us at a great restaurant with a beautiful woman sitting across the table, or a long and tedious night in a drab room downtown in the Federal Building? Ali blinked but didn't budge, so Ashlyn rolled on. "Think about it - if I am who you think I am, an ex-Army Special Forces-trained assassin, do you really think you're going to get me to crack?”

Ali held her position for a moment and then sighed, gave in, and lowered her gun.

Ashlyn smiled at her. She turned around, took two steps away and then stopped and turned back. “You want me to pick you up? We can make it like a real date.”

Ali looked at her, incredulous. “Really, Ashlyn?”

“Why not?” Ashlyn asked. She paused for a moment and then asked, “When’s the last time you were even on a date, Special Agent Beautiful?”

“W-w-what?” Ali stammered. “W-w-wait, that’s none of your business.”

“Oooh”, Ashlyn said and smiled slightly. “I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I mean, I'm not saying you're not...you know... I mean, there's probably tons of women who'd love to go out with you, but, well, you work in law enforcement, and that means long hours, so there's probably not much time for dating, huh?” Ali didn't say anything, so Ashlyn smiled sympathetically and said, “It’s been a while for me, too.”

Ali stared at her for a moment, flustered, and then said, “Whatever. You can’t pick me up. You don’t even know where I live.”

“1725 South Halsted Street, Apartment 2?” Ashlyn asked and smiled slightly. 

“Wait – h-h-how do you know that?” Ali asked in disbelief.

Ashlyn cocked her head. The sirens had stopped, and she could see flashing lights reflecting off the windows of the corner store. “Well, I should be going. How’s this – for our first date, tomorrow, I’ll just meet you there. I can pick you up for the next one.” She looked at Ali, who was staring at her, incredulous. Ashlyn smiled at her and then took a step towards her. Ali instinctually raised her gun, and Ashlyn put her hands up in a pacifying gesture. Ali relaxed, and Ashlyn stepped closer. She smoothly placed her hand over Ali’s hand that was holding the gun. She held it there for a second, and then moved her finger lightly over Ali’s wrist. She felt Ali’s hand start to relax, and she gently took the gun from Ali’s hand, staring into her eyes the whole time. She brought up Ali’s gun in her hand, and in one smooth move ejected the magazine and ejected the round in the chamber, catching it as it fell. She held the magazine and the round in her right hand, then twirled the gun around in her left hand and handed Ali back her gun, grip-first, with no bullets. Ali’s mouth dropped open, momentarily awestruck by the smoothness of the move, and as she took her gun back, Ashlyn leaned in and planted a kiss on Ali’s open mouth. They stood there, pressed together for a moment, and then Ashlyn pulled back. Ali stood there, speechless. Ashlyn smiled slightly, and then took her finger and touched it lightly to Ali’s lips. “Goodnight, Special Agent Beautiful”, she said softly. “See you tomorrow at 8. Dress nice.” Ashlyn turned and walked about five feet and then turned back. Ali was still staring at her in disbelief. Ashlyn smiled at Ali, and then threw her the magazine and the round that had been in the chamber. Then she winked at Ali, blew her a kiss, and disappeared into the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Giuseppi Marano, ruling patriarch of the Marano crime family, sat in the parlor of his 10,000 square foot house in the southwest end of Little Italy. With him were Frankie Marano, his son, and Carmine Lippenzo, the new underboss of the Marano family. The atmosphere was tense, and Giuseppi was worried.

“Who the fuck did this?” Giuseppi asked both Carmine and Frankie in his gravelly voice.

“I don’t know, Papa”, Frankie said.

“My guess? Maybe the Marretti’s”, Carmine offered. “You know there’s been unrest with some of them ever since we folded their family into ours.”

“No, it’s not them. Antonio Marretti gave me his word”, Giuseppi said.

“Maybe the Disciples, Papa?” Frankie asked.

“No”, Giuseppi said again. “It’s not them. They would have waited in vans on the street, twenty of ‘em, and then jumped out and sprayed the whole fuckin’ building with bullets. This was a solo shooter. Acting alone.”

“Well, Papa, I thought mayb-“ Frankie started, but Giuseppi cut him off.

“I said it’s not them. But, we do need to talk to them.”

“What for?” Carmine asked.

“Because they got hit, too. Last night. Same style – a solo gunman, acting alone. Took out three of their high-ranking guys with three shots.” Guiseppi looked at Carmine. “I wanna know if they know anything.” Then he stared hard at both Carmine and his son. “Someone’s after us. All of us. And if we don’t figure this thing out soon, we’ll all be fuckin’ dead. Capiche?”

 

********

 

Kody Mitchell walked into the room and slammed the door shut. Mitchell, who resembled an NFL linebacker, was the reigning king of the Chicago Disciples. He had consolidated most of Chicago’s street gangs under his umbrella, and he was, in his words, the “hawdest muthafukka around in this town”. At thirty-three years old, he was a living legend and a senior citizen in the Chicago gang world, having survived more than a quarter century of fist fights, knifings and drive-by shootings. Now, he had called a meeting to discuss the slayings of Ramon Cruz, Jason Chang, and DeShawn Williams that had taken place last night at Mother’s. He and his remaining top lieutenants – Dominik Lancaster, Felipe Sosa and Terrell Jackson – were sitting in a private room in Club 361, a regular Disciple hangout on the south side of Chicago. The atmosphere was tense, and Mitchell was nervous.

“So, what the fuck happened last night? Kody asked in his menacing baritone voice.

“I don’t know, man”, Dominik said.

“My guess? Maybe the Vice Lords”, Felipe offered. “You know they’re the one gang we haven’t been able to fold into our ranks.”

“No, it’s not them”, Kody said. “They’re too far up north. No way they would have come all the way down to Rush and Division to start shit.”

“Maybe the Maranos?” Terrell asked.

“Maybe”, Kody, “but I don’t think so. Costello and Pazzarelli got hit the same way last week. Same M.O. – lone gunman, one kill shot per guy. I don't think this is them.”

The room was silent for a minute, then Dominik asked, “So, what do we do?”

Kody thought for a minute, then said, “We need to talk to the Maranos.”

“Why the fuck do we want to talk to them?” Terrell asked.

“Because they got hit, too”, Kody said. “I wanna know if they know anything.” He stared hard at his lieutenants. “Some motherfucker is after us. All of us. And if we don’t figure this thing out soon, we’ll all be fuckin’ wasted.” He looked at Felipe and said, “Set up a meeting.”


	9. Chapter 9

Ali pulled into the Stefano's parking lot a little before 8pm. She turned off the engine and sat in her car for a minute. She was as nervous as a schoolgirl on a first date. There were just so many levels of unexplainable-ness and shouldn’t-be-doing-this going on here. But, despite all of that, she just hadn’t been able to turn down the invite. After she got home last night, she had laid in bed for two hours, her mind spinning as she thought about her encounter with Ashlyn, especially their kiss. She had woken up this morning and had added an extra three miles onto her run, trying to work off some nervous energy. She had taken a long shower at 5pm, and then had spent the next two hours trying on outfits. She had settled on a stylish red dress and matching heels. She was wearing matching color lipstick and had styled her hair down. She had checked her appearance in the mirror at least a dozen times, then had jumped in her car and had driven to Stefano's, in the Lakeview area of Chicago. Now, sitting in the parking lot, she checked her appearance one last time, and as she put her compact mirror back in her purse, she looked at her .22 nestled beside her wallet. She took a few deep breaths, exhaled one last time, and exited her car. She walked into the hi-end steakhouse and approached the hostess. She was about to give her name when the maître d approached.

“Good evening, Miss Krieger”, he said.

“Uh…hi”, Ali said, surprised by the fact that the maître d knew her name.

“Miss Harris is expecting you. Right this way, please”, he said, and escorted Ali to a quiet table in the back. Ali saw Ashlyn sitting at the table, and her breath caught. Ashlyn was wearing a black suit, white shirt, purple tie and black dress shoes. She was looking up expectantly as the maître d lead Ali to the table, and she rose as Ali neared. She thanked the maître d as he left and leaned in to kiss Ali’s cheek. Ali froze for a second but then smiled faintly as she felt Ashlyn’s lips connect with her skin. Ashlyn pulled back and said, “You look lovely”.

Ali blushed a bit but managed to get out, “Thank you. You look...uh, wow.” Ashlyn smiled and then pulled out Ali’s chair. Ali sat, and Ashlyn pushed her chair in. As she went back around the table to her own chair, her fingers lightly brushed Ali’s hair. Ali’s eyes closed for a second. It had been a long time since she had felt anyone touch her hair.

Ashlyn sat down and then looked at Ali. “Thank you for coming tonight”, she said.

Ali smiled and looked at Ashlyn. She's beautiful, Ali thought. She had striking features and long blonde hair. She had a poise about her that suggested confidence, and an underlying hardness about her that said, This is someone who has been through it, Ali thought. She looked at Ashlyn and said, “You’re welcome. How did the maître d know my name?”

Ashlyn looked at Ali. “I gave it to him, and I told him I was expecting the most stunning brunette he would ever see in his life. I think he put it together pretty easily when you walked in”, she said and smiled.

Ali blushed a little again, but regained her composure quickly. “So, I’m here”, she said. “Tell me everything.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Wow, Special Agent Beautiful. Starting out quick, aren’t we? Can we at least order dinner first, have a drink, and maybe even engage in some small talk before we dive into business?” When Ali didn’t say anything, Ashlyn said, “I mean, it’s not like you need to rush off tonight. I don’t think there’s going to be another sniper killing, at least while we’re having dinner together.” She looked at Ali and winked. A bottle of wine was already on the table, and Ashlyn poured each of them a glass.

Ali looked at Ashlyn. “Ashlyn, you really can’t say that to me. I mean, I’m a fede-“

“Yes, I know, you’re a federal agent.” Ashlyn rolled her eyes. Ali looked down at her purse, and Ashlyn said, “By the way, you won’t need the .22 that’s in there.”

Ali looked up at her in surprise. “How did you know…?“ she let it trail off.

Ashlyn laughed. “I didn’t. I just guessed.” She leaned forward, and in an exaggerated conspiratory voice, said, “I brought one with me, too.” At that, Ali actually cracked a smile, and Ashlyn sensed that she was starting to soften up. She knew this date had to be somewhat bizarre for Ali, and it was weird for her too, but Ashlyn had felt compelled to ask her out. She was drawn to Ali, and she figured that Ali had to be at least drawn to her in some way, shape or form, otherwise she wouldn’t be here tonight, and she probably would have just arrested her on the spot last night. “So, how about we just agree to not use our guns tonight?”

Ali smiled. “I can agree to that. Unless I see you break the law. Then I have to draw my piece and take you in.” She smiled, almost apologetically.

“I promise, Ali. I won’t break any laws tonight”, Ashlyn said coyly. “May I call you Ali? Or would you prefer Special Agent Beautiful?”

Ali smiled and then said, “Yes, you may call me Ali.” I can't believe I'm here right now, Ali thought. There was just something about Ashlyn, maybe her striking looks, maybe the fact that she answered to no one, or maybe something else, but Ali was drawn to her. And then there was Ashlyn’s unexpected appearance at Marangos, and then her brazen, unafraid attitude while Ali had her gun trained on her, and then, out of all possibilities, Ashlyn asking her out on a date. And then, to top it all off, there was Ashlyn planting a kiss on Ali’s lips. Things just hadn’t gone the way Ali would have expected. And not necessarily in a bad way, she thought, but this is definitely weird. “I’ve never been in here”, Ali said. “Do you come here often?”

Ashlyn nodded. “It’s my favorite place to eat”, she said.

“And how did you come across it?” Ali asked.

"I was introduced to this place through my family, but I keep coming here because the food is the best in the city. Speaking of which, shall we order?” Ashlyn asked, as the waiter approached. Ashlyn motioned to the waiter to take Ali’s order first, and Ali ordered the Coriander duck with toasted almonds in béarnaise sauce, and Ashlyn a ordered a ribeye steak with a side of greens and a twice-baked potato.

“So…do you bring all of your dates here?” Ali probed, when the waiter had left.

Ashlyn laughed lightly. “No, Ali, in fact, I’ve never brought a date here. Well, at least not before tonight.” She smiled at Ali and winked.

“Okay, um…well, I’m honored then, I guess”, Ali said, and blushed a little.

“Do you like it so far?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yeah, it’s really nice”, Ali responded, looking around again. It was definitely the fanciest restaurant she had ever been to.

“Nicer than the last date you went on?”

Ali looked at Ashlyn with disbelief. “Ashlyn…”

“You never answered my question from last night. I figure if I’m going to answer some questions, then I think it’s only fair that you do the same. And, since you don’t have anything to offer me about a case that I’m working on, I’ll settle for some personal details. You know – normal date stuff”, Ashlyn jockeyed, and then leaned in a bit and stared into Ali’s eyes. “So, when is the last time you were on a date?”

“Like, a year ago”, Ali said, almost sheepishly.

“And?”

“She’s a self-defense instructor. We met when she came in to JOCT to teach a seminar. We went out once. It didn’t go anywhere.” Ali looked at Ashlyn. “How about you? When’s the last time you were on a date?”

“Ooooh, I like that”, Ashlyn said, noting how Ali had turned the question right back around on her. “A skilled interrogator, turning the question right back around”, she said and laughed.

Ali laughed as well. The ice was breaking, Ashlyn thought. “I am a skilled interrogator. And don’t think that your charming laugh and that dimpled smile is going to get you out of answering the question", Ali said.

The laughter died down, and Ashlyn said, “So, my last date…do you want business or personal?”

“Either”, Ali said.

“Okay…let me see…last date…” Ashlyn made a show of remembering. “Oh, right. Nine months ago. It was business. Kind of.”

“Tell me about it”, Ali said.

“He was an arms dealer selling high-grade plutonium to Chechnyan rebels", Ashlyn said. "I was contracted by the Russian Interior Ministry to stop the sale. So, I came onto him at a club in Russia, and he and I had dinner together.”

“And?”

"We got a hotel room above the restaurant and made love."

"Wow. And…where did it go from there?"

"I slit his throat when he fell asleep", Ashlyn said, matter-of-factly.

“What!?” Ali almost jumped out of her chair.

Ashlyn laughed. “I’m totally kidding, about the whole thing. That never happened. O-M-G, you should see your face, Ali.”

“You-!” Ali said in mock anger as she smiled. “You just totally played me.” She pouted.

“I’m sorry”, Ashlyn said, still laughing. “I just couldn’t resist.”

The two women laughed together, and then Ali said, “No, seriously, your last date…?”

“It was about six months ago”, Ashlyn said. “She’s a graphic designer that I met at a monthly networking event for freelance graphics artists.” Ali stared at her, so Ashlyn said, “Yes, Ali. I actually do have a life outside of what you think you know about me.”

“Okay, and what is it that you think I think I know about you?” Ali asked.

“Wow. That was pretty roundabout”, Ashlyn said. “Is that like, ‘I know that you know that I know that you know that I know that you know?’ Some fancy JOCT speak to confuse the suspect?” Ashlyn smiled and winked at Ali.

“No”, Ali said, smiling herself. “I just…want to know about you. And what you’ve been up to lately.” Then she lowered her eyes and said, “That’s the deal, remember?”

“Oh, yes. The deal”, Ashlyn said. “Well, how about we get into that in a bit?”

“Fine”, Ali said. “Then let’s get back to your last date.”

“Ah, yes. We went out twice, and nothing really came of it.”

“And why’s that, do you think?”

“It just wasn’t there”, Ashlyn said and shrugged her shoulders. “How about you? Why do you think your last date didn’t go anywhere?”

“Same. It just wasn’t there. Plus, my hours are pretty crazy. I mean, it would take someone really understanding to put up with me.”

“Or, maybe someone who believes enough in what you do, which would make someone understanding enough to put up with the hours”, Ashlyn said, and took a sip of her wine. “Oh – food’s here”, she said, as the waiter brought their plates. “Bon appetite”, Ashlyn said to Ali, as they started in.

“Wow”, Ali said, as she took a bite of duck. “This is…amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it”, Ashlyn said. “Do you want to try a piece of steak?”

Ali paused. “Um…sure, thanks”, she said, as Ashlyn put a piece of steak on her plate. “Do you want a piece of duck?”

“Sure. I’ve actually had it here, but it’s been a while”, Ashlyn said, as she speared a piece of duck from Ali’s plate onto her fork. “It’s delicious, isn’t it?” she asked Ali, as she put the piece in her mouth.

“Yeah, it’s…absolutely delicious”. Ali was truly impressed. The food here was exquisite. She could see how it was considered one of the best restaurants in the city. “So, um, if this is your favorite place to eat, but you don’t bring dates her…who do you bring here?” Ali asked, trying to change the subject back to Ashlyn. She wanted to find out more about her, but, she found herself slipping into becoming more curious about Ashlyn personally than professionally.

Ashlyn smiled and took a sip of wine, then said, “When I come here, I actually come here by myself most of the time.”

“Interesting”, Ali said and then thought: She doesn’t mind dining alone. Ali thought about Ashlyn dining at Salvatore’s for almost three hours by herself while she scoped out the joint and ran surveillance on Costello and Pazzarelli. ”So, where are you from?" Ali asked.

“As in, do I have an exotic backstory, the kind you might expect a mysterious assassin to have?" Ashlyn countered, jokingly.

“No”, Ali said and smiled. “Look, I’ll stop trying to pry for professional information. At least for now”, she said. She looked at Ashlyn, and Ashlyn smiled, partly out of relief, and partly because Ali was so damn…desirable, trying to navigate her way through this dinner that she just couldn’t quite get a handle on. Ali looked at Ashlyn, smiled and shrugged slightly. “Right now, I’m just trying to get to know you, as a person. As my date”, Ali said and smiled.

So, Ali was coming around to actually seeing this as a date. Ashlyn smiled at that. “I was born and raised here in Chicago, in the Ravenswood area."

“Sure, I know it. I used to go up there for soccer tournaments when I was in high school. We played at Duke’s Field.”

“Oh sure. I used to play soccer there too.” Ashlyn said.

"Wait - did I ever play against you?" Ali asked. "When did you graduate high school?"

"Are you trying to figure out how old I am, Special Agent Krieger?" Ashlyn asked. "You should never ask a woman her age. You know that", she said, and then laughed. Ali laughed as well, and then Ashlyn asked. “Where did you grow up?”

“Elmwood Park”, Ali said.

“Sure”, Ashlyn said. “I used to go to the Harlem and Irving Mall when I was in high school. They had the largest Gap in the city there at that time.”

“That Gap is still there”, Ali said and laughed. The mall was two blocks from where Ali had grown up. Ashlyn laughed too, and as the laughter died down, both women thought, God, this is nice. It’s kind of like, well, a real date. Ali looked at Ashlyn and then said, “It’s funny, like, I know things about where you grew up, and you know things about where I grew up.”

“Yeah, well, we didn’t grow up that far apart. Maybe five, ten miles”, Ashlyn said.

“I guess not”, Ali said. For some reason, it was hard for her to imagine that Ashlyn grew up anything like her, since she did something so different now.

Ashlyn seemed to be reading her thoughts. “You know, Ali, just because we have different professions doesn’t mean that I grew up all that different than you. I mean, it’s not like I grew up shooting automatic weapons and blowing up buildings as a kid. I had a normal Chicago kid’s childhood. I went to public school, played sports, went to Cubs games, movies, birthday parties, etc. The same stuff that you probably did growing up.”

Ali smiled sheepishly. “Look, I’m sorry. I mean, I guess it’s just…I just wonder how it is that, if we grew up the same, we went in such opposite directions.”

Ashlyn looked at Ali and then asked, “Was my job really that much different than yours is, Ali? You catch bag guys here in this city. I did the same thing. I just had a much larger playing field and had to travel around the world to do it.”

"How do you know the people you were chasing were bad guys?" Ali asked. She didn't know a whole lot about the world of Special Forces, or Special Operations in general. It was a very secretive world, and the participants were notoriously tight-lipped. But, she had an idea that there was a pretty large grey area in which professionals of that world operated.

Ashlyn looked at Ali. "That's a good question, Special Agent Beautiful. How do you know that the people you chase are bad guys?"

"Because, there's intel, dossiers, all sorts of info on these guys", Ali replied.

"Yup. We had all that too." Ashlyn countered.

Ali stared at her. It was like hitting a tennis ball against a wall. It kept coming back. She decided to drop the subject and shift directions a bit. “So, you did serve in the Special Forces, then?”

Ashlyn put down her wine that she was holding and looked Ali straight in the eye. “What do you think, Ali? If you ask me, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Ali took a deep breath, exhaled, and then asked. “Did you serve in the United States Army Special Forces?”

Ashlyn nodded. “Yes, Ali. I did.”

Now, the moment of truth, Ali thought. “Did you kill those two Mafioso last week, and those three Disciples last night?”

“What do you think?” Ashlyn asked.


	10. Chapter 10

This is just bizarre, Ali thought. This date, this whole thing, it's all kind of surreal. Here she was, sharing dinner with a woman who she was pretty sure assassinated five people in the last week. Sure, they were all criminals, but still. This whole thing was just crazy. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but also, a part of her just wanted to have a normal date with a beautiful woman, to not get into something so deep that she might regret knowing the truth, so she let go of the question she was about to ask again and said, “Okay, we’re going to get back to that, and also back to what you were saying about our jobs being the same, because I’m not sure if they are, but I’m dying to know how you got into joining the Special Forces in the first place.”

Ashlyn leaned back in her chair. “It started when I was around fifteen or so”, she said. I was living with my parents. They were kind of foodies, so they liked to try new restaurants. Sometimes, the restaurants they tried weren’t in the best neighborhoods. Anyway, one night they went out to dinner, and they came back much later than I had expected. Apparently, they were mugged when they were walking back to their car after dinner.”

“Awww…I’m sorry, Ashlyn”, Ali said.

“Thank you”, Ashlyn said. “Anyway, they had gone to the police station to file a report. As you may have guessed, the police never found the assailant.”

“Well, it’s too bad about the mugging, but at least your parents weren’t hurt.”

“That’s true. They weren’t hurt, and the assailant only got my father’s wallet and watch, and my mother’s purse and jewelry. But, I remember being so angry at the fact that they had been mugged. I was an only child, so my parents were everything to me.” Ali noticed that Ashlyn used the past tense. “I wanted to catch the assailant and make him pay. Or, I wanted the police to catch him and make him pay. But, he was never caught. And, and as time went on”, Ashlyn continued, “I became less angry that my parents had been mugged, and more angry that the assailant was never found.”

“So, that’s where the vigilante comes from, huh?” Ali asked.

“No. Not just yet", Ashlyn continued. "My father was a successful real estate broker, and he and his firm were buying up property in various up-and-coming neighborhoods in the city. One of the areas they were buying property in was Little Italy. Little Italy has many good restaurants, so property value had come up, since it had become a hot place to dine. One night, about two years after the mugging, my father took my mother out to dinner at a restaurant in Little Italy. It was next to a property he was thinking about buying, and he wanted to show her the property. When they came out of the restaurant, they were shot and killed.”

“What?!” Ali said in disbelief. She stopped chewing, her mouth hanging half open, full of food.

“Yup. Just like that. Gunned down in a drive-by shooting. A big investigation was opened – local police, the FBI, etc. Apparently, the mafia didn’t want anyone buying up property in Little Italy, and, instead of just warning off prospective buyers verbally, or just offering more money to keep the properties in the hands of the local residents, they decided to ‘send a message’, so they shot my father and my mother as a warning to every other prospective buyer to stay out of Little Italy. No warning. No discussion. No thought to how shooting them would affect me, their daughter. They just shot and killed them.” Ashlyn looked down, and when she looked up, Ali could see a tear start to form in her eye.

“Ashlyn – I’m so sorry.” Ali said. She wanted to reach out and give Ashlyn a comforting touch, but Ashlyn’s hands were in her lap, and the large, elegant table placed too much distance between them for Ali to be able to reach across the table and touch Ashlyn’s arm.

Ashlyn wiped away the tear and continued. “I was devastated. I moved in with my grandmother and finished off high school. I’d always had an interest in art and an aptitude for computers, so after high school, I went to college at Northwestern to study graphic design and computer science. I attended college for a couple years, but I couldn’t focus, and I just felt like my life lacked direction. I guess I was searching for meaning. On top of that, underneath everything was the hurt I felt due to my parents’ deaths. Over time, sadness turned to anger, and beneath the surface, I was harboring a desire for revenge. Anyway, while I was at Northwestern, I met an army recruiter. He told me that the army is a good place to find meaning in one's life, which is probably what army recruiters tell a lot of prospective recruits. Anyway, I was pretty lost, so, I ended up dropping out of college and joining the army.”

“Wow”, Ali said, since that was about all she could think of right then.

“I went through basic training, and then I went through the army’s basic combat training course. When I finished BCT, one of my instructors suggested that I try out for the Special Forces. I was in good shape, and I had scored well on some aptitude and ability tests, one of them being on the rifle range. I had no other plans, and the thought of one day avenging my parents was still in my mind, and I figured I could pick up some valuable skills in the Special Forces, so I entered the Assessment and Selection program. Six months later, I donned the green beret and joined a Special Forces unit. I served on the Special Forces for six years, and I was honorably discharged two years ago.”

“Wow”, Ali said again. “So, what was it like? Being a part of the Special Forces?”

“It was grueling, as you might expect”, Ashlyn said. “First off, they physically work you and deprive you of sleep. Then, they teach you all sorts of stuff: tracking, surveillance, hand to hand combat, advanced weapon tactics, explosives, electronics. Long range shooting. They also teach you languages and customs, since you will most likely be operating in another country. The thing they teach you most, though, is how to problem solve and improvise on the fly.”

“Wow”, Ali said for the third time. “Well, it sounds…fascinating, to say the least, and, well, quite a life you’ve had”, Ali said, since she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “And…what have you been doing since you were discharged from the army?”

“I’ve been living off of my inheritance from my parents, and working part-time as a graphic designer and computer consultant”, Ashlyn smiled, and then said, “among other things.”

Ali stared at her. She wanted to follow up on the 'other things' part, but Ashlyn spoke first and said, “Your turn. How about you? What was your path to becoming a special agent in JOCT?

“My parents were killed in a car accident.”

Ashlyn looked at her and put down her fork. “I’m sorry to hear that”, she said earnestly.

“Thanks”, Ali said. “They were driving home from work one day. They were going through an intersection, and a driver coming cross traffic ran a red light. The driver had been drinking at a happy hour that day. He was drunk, and he was texting on his phone. He wasn’t paying attention, and he T-boned my parents' car, right on the driver side door.”

Ashlyn’s face registered sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Ali.”

“My father died on impact. My mother died a few days later. The other driver walked away. He was a first time offender. His lawyer got him down to two hundred hours of community service. My parents have been dead for seventeen years.” Ali looked down and then looked up. “It’s not fair. Two hundred hours for my parents' lives. And all because someone couldn’t follow a few simple rules. Just couldn’t fucking follow the law. So, I got into law enforcement. I went to college and got my degree in criminal justice, and then I joined the police force here in Chicago. I was a cop for a couple of years, working the gangs here in the city. Then I joined the FBI. I worked in Organized Crime for a bit, and then I heard about JOCT, so I applied. They accepted me for the Chicago office because I am familiar with Chicago, and because I have experience working in a federal agency. I can bridge the gap between the two worlds – the local and the federal.”

The two women were silent for a minute, and then Ashlyn said, “Well, it sounds like we have some similar experience…personal tragedy.”

“Laws need to be followed”, Ali said, continuing her thoughts. “When people start breaking laws, bad things happen.”

“When bad people do bad things, bad things happen”, Ashlyn responded.

“I want to make this world a safer place”, Ali said. “That means that people need to follow the laws and rules. And, if they don’t, I’m going to be there.”

“I want this world to be a safer place, too”, Ashlyn said. “But, laws and rules aren’t always going to ensure that. People break rules and laws all the time. And they get away with it, all the time. Justice needs to be served, regardless.”

“If people followed the law, bad things wouldn’t happen”, Ali said resolutely.

“If people acted right and were good people, we wouldn’t need laws”, Ashlyn countered. “Look, Ali – we want the same thing. Good people safe, bad people behind bars. Or…maybe…somewhere else.” Like six feet under, Ashlyn thought. She looked right at Ali and leaned in a bit. “Maybe we can help each other out.”

Ali stared at Ashlyn. “Wait-what?” she said. “Ashlyn - I can’t work with you.”

“Why not?” Ashlyn said. She leaned in. "Look, we both know that the Maranos and the Disciples are bad, law-breaking scumbags in the first degree. If they aren't dealt with, there's just going to be more and more innocent bodies piling up."

“I agree, but I can't work with you because, it’s against the law. I mean, even if I wanted to work with you, which, well, to be honest, I could see the benefit, I couldn’t.” Ali looked at her. “I mean, I’m probably breaking like eight federal statutes just having dinner with you right now.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes slightly. “Look, no one has to know we’re working together. I can help you out without anyone knowing.”

“People will find out. I mean, I found you out.”

“I left you that hair, on top of the bank, so you could put two and two together. And you’re the only one out of your whole crew who was able to do so”, Ashlyn said. “Look - we both know how things work. There’s the ideal world, and then there’s the real world. The ideal world is that you and your law-abiding partners will be able to take down the mob and the gangs and everything will be hunky-dory. In the real world, that’s never going to happen. Your agencies are too congested with process, procedure, politics and bureaucracy to get anything done. You need help. Someone who works on the outside, who isn’t bogged down by anything.” Ali just stared at her, so Ashlyn repeated herself. “Ali – we want the same thing.”

“Maybe so”, Ali said, and looked at Ashlyn forcefully. “But we need to go about it the same way.”

Ashlyn held Ali’s stare, and then she looked down. She looked back up and smiled a bit. “Well, you just let me know.” Ali’s face softened a bit, and Ashlyn said, “Hey – enough business for tonight, okay? Let's not spoil our date arguing. You just let me know tomorrow or whenever, yes?”

Ali stared at Ashlyn, and then nodded slowly and smiled slightly.

Ashlyn saw Ali nod, and smiled. “Do you want dessert?” she asked.

 

********

 

“Well, that was one of the more interesting dates I’ve had”, Ali said, as she and Ashlyn walked to their cars in the parking lot.

“Did you enjoy it?” Ashlyn asked.

“I did, yes. And thank you”, Ali said. Dinner had been lovely. Kind of surreal and a bit confusing and, well, to be honest, bizarre, but still lovely nonetheless.

“You’re welcome”, Ashlyn said. And she meant it.

Ali reached her car first and unlocked it with her remote. She turned to face Ashlyn. “So…what’s next?”

Ashlyn looked into Ali's eyes, and then looked down. She reached out slowly and took Ali's hands. She felt Ali go rigid, but she looked up and smiled, and Ali relaxed. “Well, do you feel like continuing the night?" When Ali didn't say anything right away, Ashlyn said, "I've got a place nearby." It was one of a few apartments Ashlyn had. She never knew when extra places would come in handy. "Do you…want to come over for a drink?"

Ali looked into Ashlyn's eyes. This woman is fascinating, she thought. She's beautiful, smart, complex, and obviously skilled at many things, but, there's something more. She's a nice person. She's a nice person, and a caring person, Ali thought. She could feel Ashlyn's sympathy when she told Ashlyn about her parents. She could tell Ashlyn cared about making sure good people didn't get trampled on by bad people. Yes, I'm pretty sure she doesn't always follow the law, and yes, even though she hadn't confirmed her involvement, I'm pretty pretty sure that she killed five people last week, Ali thought. But, despite all that, she's still a good person. She's not a cold-blooded killer. She has a conscience. Ali's mind was spinning, and she looked down, and then back at Ashlyn, who was looking at her expectantly. "I do", Ali said, "but not tonight." She looked apologetically into Ashlyn's eyes and squeezed Ashlyn's hands.

"Well, okay", Ashlyn said. She understood the reasons why Ali was hesitant to continue the night, hesitant to get involved with someone who may be illegally eliminating criminals. She smiled, squeezed Ali's hands back and said, "Well, then, why don’t you just let me know if you can use my help, then”, she said.

Ali looked into Ashlyn’s eyes, and then looked at the ground. There was all sorts of shouldn’t-be-doing-this happening here. She looked back up at Ashlyn, who was still smiling at her. “I-I-I don’t know”, Ali said. “I mean, this...this is just crazy”, she said.

“Crazier than bad people getting away with doing bad things?” Ashlyn asked.

“I...just don’t know”, Ali said.

Ashlyn smiled at her again, and then stepped closer. She leaned in and said, “Well, how about you think about it, and in the meantime, since there are no sirens or flashing lights around right now, I’ll give you this.” She let go of Ali’s left hand, cupped Ali’s chin, and planted her lips on Ali’s. Ali stood there for a second, in shock, then closed her eyes, let her lips relax, and returned the kiss. She felt Ashlyn’s tongue gently enter her mouth and lightly touch her own. The two women remained pressed for a minute, tongues dancing lightly, and then Ashlyn broke the kiss. She pulled back, smiled, and lead Ali by the hand to the driver's side door of Ali's car. She opened it for Ali to get in. Ali smiled, almost shyly, then got in her car.

Ashlyn said, “Have a great night, Special Agent Beautiful”, then shut the door for Ali. Ashlyn watched as Ali fired up her engine and backed out of the parking lot. Ashlyn then turned around and walked to her own car. As she was about to get in, she heard Ali call out. “Wait!” Ashlyn turned around. “How can I get a hold of you?” Ali asked.

“You're a special agent”, Ashlyn said and smiled. “Figure it out”. Ali just stared at her. Ashlyn winked and got in her car, then fired up the engine and drove off.


	11. Chapter 11

Ashlyn laid in her bathtub, head back, eyes closed. It had been two days since her date with Ali, and she couldn’t get the brunette out of her head. She was smitten, and even more so since Ali had ended their night early. Ashlyn had been sure that Ali would have taken her up on her offer to continue their date night with a drink back at her place, and once Ashlyn had gotten Ali back there, she had been confident she could have charmed the beauty out of her dress. No such luck. Well, it looks like we’re going to need to meet again, Ashlyn thought. She got out of the tub, dried herself off, and put on a pair of jeans and a sleeveless shirt. She sat down at her laptop and pulled up the JOCT website, then, as before, she pulled up another screen, typed in some code, and hacked her way into the JOCT database. She pulled up Ali’s profile and looked at it for what may have been the billionth time in the last 3 days. She stared at Ali’s picture and lost herself in the brunette's eyes. She looked at Ali's bio and imagined her as a young girl, then in high school, then in college studying criminal justice. Her eyes fell upon Ali’s address – 1725 South Halsted Street, Apartment 2, and she fantasized about driving to that address and picking Ali up for their next date, Ali walking out of her apartment, looking lovely and smiling at Ashlyn. Ashlyn looked at Ali’s profile for another moment and then sighed. Get a grip, she told herself. It’s probably not going to happen. Not that Ashlyn was worried anymore that Ali would haul her in. If she was going to do that, she would have done it already. And sure, there was an attraction on Ali’s part, Ashlyn could feel it. But, the bottom line is that Ali’s a rule-following law-enforcement agent, and I’m a law-breaking assassin, Ashlyn thought. Still, some part of her hoped that, despite those differences, there might be a future together. She could envision it. They could be good together. It’s like, in another life, under different circumstances, maybe it would have worked. You know what? Ashlyn thought. I can still make it work. Maybe it’s just another problem to solve. I just want someone to date, to be with, to love, just like a normal person. Is that too much to ask for? And why should it matter what we do for a living, as long as we’re both good people? There's no reason we shouldn't give it a chance, just because of what we do. It's who we are that counts. Then, she thought, I just don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe the whole thing is just unrealistic. Maybe I should get back to focusing on the mission, she said to herself. Flip flop, flip flop. She ended up on flop and forced herself to get back to thinking about the next part of her plan. She knew that killing high-ranking members of both the Marano family and the Disciples would do one of two things: either make the two sides engage in all-out war, in which case they would kill each other off, or it would bring the two factions together for a talk. If that happened, she could crash the party and wipe out the leadership of both factions in one fell swoop. Now, she just needed to find out if the two sides were meeting, and if so, when and where. She could just stay hacked into the JOCT site and monitor Ali’s log notes, which were meticulous, but maybe there’s another way to find out what I need to know, she thought…a more enjoyable way. Flip back. Ashlyn smiled and shut her laptop, then changed into a dark blue suit with a light blue tie. She topped it off with a grey fedora and put on some makeup, checked her appearance in the mirror and then headed out.

 

********

 

Ali was in her office, sifting through an endless stack of paperwork. Actually, she was going through the motions, but she couldn't stop thinking about Ashlyn. What is going on with me? She thought. I shouldn’t even be thinking about this woman. She’s a damn assassin, I'm pretty sure. But, our date…it was, well, it was…all in all, wonderful. A little bizarre, a little confusing, but wonderful. And the kiss…I know there was all sorts of wrong happening there, but still…it just felt good. It just felt…right. Like, take away the fact that she breaks the law and I enforce the law, and…yes…I could see us giving it a shot at being together. But, still…she breaks the law. And laws need to be followed, or bad things happe-

“Krieger.”

The voice broke Ali out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Wambach standing in her doorway. “My office – right now”. She sighed, then got up and followed Wambach to her office. Megan and Hope were already there.

“What’s up, guys?” Ali asked.

“Big news”, Megan said. “Some intel came in today. The Maranos and the Disciples are meeting in one week.”

“Meeting? Like, together, in the same room?" Ali asked, surprised.

“My sources confirm that meeting as well”, Hope said. “Apparently, the one-shot kills to high-ranking members of their organizations have both sides spooked. They’re meeting on neutral ground, at the Park Warehouse, in the Industrial Corridor.”

"Wow”, Ali said. The fact that they are actually agreeing to meet in the same room together without killing each other means something big, she thought. “If anything, I would have thought that maybe the two sides would have assumed that the other side employed the sniper and would start tearing each other apart.”

“No such luck", Megan said. "Neither organization bought into that theory. Now, obviously, there’s no love lost between these two sides, but the fact that they are getting together and could be talking about possibly forming some sort of alliance, if only temporarily until they get rid of whoever is sniping them off, is bad news.”

“Yeah, it sure is”, Ali agreed. She didn't want the two sides turning the streets into a war zone, but still, the two largest criminal organizations in the city forming an alliance…that can't be good, either, she thought.

“Speaking of the sniper, where are you with that?” Wambach directed her question towards Ali. “Hope and Megan tell me you have a possible lead.

“Uh…still working on it, boss”, Ali said. “I’ve got a theory, but, uh, really, at this time…that’s all it is.”

"I kind of like this sniper", Hope said. "We should put her on the payroll."

“No, we shouldn't", Wambach said firmly, looking at Hope. Then, she looked at Ali and said, “Find this damn shooter and bring her – or him – in. And do it quick.” He looked at Hope and Megan. “You two – find out who all’s going to be at this meeting. If old man Marano and that scumbag Kody Mitchell are both going to be there, then I want us there as well, ready to move in. We can grab the leadership of these organizations and set them back years. It would be a great victory for all of us.” Megan, Hope and Ali all nodded in agreement. Wambach looked at the three of them and then said, “Get to work.”

 

********

 

Kody Mitchell was at Pimpz N' Ho’s, a full nudity strip club. It was a regular Disciple hangout on the southwest side of Chicago. Three nude women were dancing on a stage. Gangsta Rap was blaring through the loudspeakers. Felipe Sosa walked up and sat down next to Kody. 

“The meeting’s all set up”, Felipe yelled over the music.

“Good. One other thing – you think the pigs have anything to do with this sniper?

“No. We’ve been looking into it. We put the word out on the street. So far, no connection there.”

“Alright. Here’s wassup. I wanna make sure”, Kody said. “You know that woman from JOCT?”

“Yeah, the one running the investigation? I saw her on TV.”

“Yeah, that one. Send some of your crew down to her crib on Halsted and 17th.”

“You want us to waste her?”

“Nah. Just rough her up a bit. Knock out some teeth, pull some of her fingernails, or put the blowtorch to her for a few seconds. We just wanna send a message. I wanna make sure that, when we meet with the greaseballs, no muthafuckin’ feds show up.”

Felipe nodded, then got up and left, and Kody went back to enjoying his show.


	12. Chapter 12

Ali parked in her garage and climbed out of the car. It was a little past 8pm. Getting out of work at that time was early for her, but she was tired. She unlocked the main door to her apartment building and started climbing the stairs to her apartment. Soft music emanated from somewhere. Someone was cooking. It smells good, she thought. She was hungry and looking forward to eating dinner herself. She rounded the landing to her apartment and froze. Her door was slightly ajar. She backed up a few feet and drew her gun. Her senses heightened, and she was instantly alert. She slowly pushed open the door to her apartment and then tiptoed in, her gun leading the way. All the lights were off in her apartment, but there was a soft glow coming from the kitchen. Was that…music? She heard a dull crackling noise. Was something on fire? There was a dull scraping noise. What the hell is going on? Ali paused at the wall next to the arch entryway into the kitchen. Then she counted to three and whipped around the entryway, dropping into a shooter’s stance, gun drawn.

“Freeze!” she yelled in standard law-enforcement tone.

“Hi beautiful, how was your day?” Ashlyn looked up from the stove and smiled as she stirred the contents of a pan.

Ali stood there, jaw open. Ashlyn was cooking and drinking a glass of wine. Soft music was playing from the kitchen stereo. All of the lights were off except for the light above the stove and the candle that was on the kitchen table. Ali noticed that Ashlyn had found the finest plateware and sliverware in the apartment and had set it out. Ali looked in disbelief around her kitchen, trying to make sense of the whole scene, and then looked back at Ashlyn. She was wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue tie and a grey fedora. Her hair was down, and she looked absolutely stunning.

“Ashlyn! Jesus Christ, I could have shot you”, Ali said.

”Well, that would have put a damper on our dinner date, wouldn’t it have?” Ashlyn said, still smiling.

“W-w-what are you doing here?” Ali asked, as she holstered her gun.

“Making you dinner, gorgeous. Well, making us dinner.”

“No, I mean, what are you doing here, in my apartment?” Ali asked, incredulous.

“I wanted to see you. I’ve been thinking about you ever since our date the other night. I had a wonderful time at dinner, and I didn’t know when you would contact me, or if you would contact me, since I didn’t exactly give you a way to contact me, so I thought I would come see you.” Ashlyn smiled.

“How did you get in here? And, how do you even know where I live?”

“I spouted off your address the night before our date, remember? I offered to pick you up”, Ashlyn reminded her.

“Yes, I remember, but you didn’t tell me how you got my address”, Ali shot back.

Ashlyn put down the spatula and looked at Ali. “I’m an ex-Special Forces operator, remember? How hard do you think it is for me to find someone’s address?”

“Okay…and how did you get into my apartment?”

Ashlyn just shot Ali a look that said, really? Then she smiled and said, “Dinner’s almost ready. We’re having chicken with a wild mushroom ragout, buttered asparagus and truffle oil potatoes. You have a few minutes to get changed.” She smiled, like a housewife welcoming her spouse home from a long day at work.

Ali sighed and dropped her shoulders. Asking questions seemed to be getting her nowhere, so she just looked at Ashlyn and smiled slightly. “Thank you. I’ll be just a minute.” She walked into her bedroom and closed the door. She leaned back against a wall. How the fu-? Whatever, she thought, interrupting herself. I’m not even going to try to guess how Ashlyn found my address or got into my apartment. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m just going to try to relax and enjoy dinner. It does smell good, she thought. Ashlyn is apparently a woman of multiple talents. Ali stripped off her work clothes and then changed into a lavender dress and a pair of black heels, then went to the bathroom to touch up her makeup and hair. She came back into the kitchen just as Ashlyn was serving dinner onto plates and pouring her a glass of wine.

“Dinner’s ready”, Ashlyn said, looking up. “You look…lovely.”

“Thanks”, Ali said. “This”, she motioned to the food, “looks lovely.” Ashlyn came around to Ali’s side of the table and pulled her chair out for her. Ali smiled and sat down. Ashlyn pushed her chair for her, and as she did, she leaned down and caught Ali off guard with a kiss on the lips. Ali froze for a second, but then relaxed, and their lips remained pressed for a moment longer. Then Ashlyn broke the kiss and took her seat across from Ali.

“This is kind of nice, right?” Ashlyn asked, as she started in on her dinner.

“What is?” Ali asked.

“This”, Ashlyn said. “Having dinner. Together. Here. Like a couple. A normal couple.”

Ali stared at her. She was still incredulous that Ashlyn had basically stalked her address and then had broken into her apartment, but Ali had to admit that, on the flip side, it was kind of nice to have someone greet her when she came home and dinner on the table. She smiled at Ashlyn and said, “It is nice. Besides the fact that you somehow found my home address and then broke into my place, I must admit that dinner is delicious.”

“Hey”, Ashlyn said, feigning hurt feelings. “I put in a lot of work rounding up the ingredients for tonight’s dinner.”

Ali smiled, letting Ashlyn know that, despite Ashlyn stalking her and breaking into her apartment, she was somehow okay with that and appreciative of the meal and Ashlyn’s presence.

“So, how was your day?” Ashlyn asked.

Ali looked at her. “I figured you might already know. I mean, you already know where I live and how to get into my place.”

Ashlyn laughed softly. “Touche. But, even if I did already know, it’s more fun to ask. You know – we can pretend to be like a normal couple for tonight. I mean, don’t you ever wonder what it’s like, to have a normal life?”

“Do normal people break into each others’ apartments, even if they are surprising them with a nice dinner?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe not. I've never been in a normal relationship, so I wouldn't know. But regardless, now that we’re here, I want to hear about your day.” Ashlyn smiled. She was having fun playing house, but part of what she was also doing was trying to find out if the Maranos and the Disciples were meeting, and if so, where and when.

Ali looked at her. “You know I can’t tell you what we’re up to.”

“Then why don’t you just say, ‘it was fine, honey, how was your day?’” Ashlyn said and laughed softly.

Ali laughed too. This is kind of fun, she thought. “I don’t think I want to know about you day”, she said, half-jokingly.

Ashlyn smiled. “Well, I suppose maybe you shouldn’t, seeing as how you’re such a by-the-book gal”, she said and winked at Ali. She decided to pry again. “So, what’s the plan? What’s the next step?”

“Ashlyn, I just said, I can’t tell you. You know that.”

“So, are you telling me that you guys don’t have a plan?” Ashlyn knew she could find out what JOCT was up to, just by hacking into their database, but she wanted to see if she could get Ali to just tell her.

“I didn’t say that. I just said I couldn’t tell you the plan”, Ali said.

Ashlyn smiled slightly. No such luck, but she figured it was worth a shot. She made an exaggerated show of sighing. “Well, then let’s talk about something else. Something less contentious, something less likely to produce a lover's quarrel”, she said, as she winked at Ali and poured them each more wine.

Ali smiled at her. She was enjoying having Ashlyn over, even though, again, Ashlyn had broken into her place. It had been a long time since she’d had someone over for dinner, and a very long time since she’d had someone as stunning and intriguing as Ashlyn Harris over. Maybe never. Scratch that – definitely never.

“This is really good”, Ali said, as she cut another piece of her chicken. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“The Cooking Channel”, Ashlyn said, and then laughed. “No, I’ve always been interested in cooking. Maybe in an alternate universe or something, I would have been a chef.”

An alternate universe, Ali thought. There we go. An alternate universe, another life, perhaps, where we would have met under different circumstances. She decided to go with it. “So…in this alternate universe…what am I doing?”

Ashlyn put down her fork and folded her hands under her chin. “Let’s see…you are…a coach.”

“A coach, huh?” Ali asked. “And, what do I coach?”

“You teach…soccer...at a high school”, Ashlyn said and smiled.

Soccer, huh? Ali thought. “And…how did we meet?”

“We met…you were with some friends, some fellow coaches from the high school you coach at, and you came into my restaurant. I…I was making the rounds…and I stopped by your table to ask how everything was. You…answered for the table, saying that everything was wonderful. And…then I said, well, you should come back sometime. But I didn’t say that to the whole table. I said that to just you. And…two weeks later, you came back for dinner. By yourself. And you asked me to join you. And…I couldn’t, because we were too busy. So…you ate alone…but…I came out to visit as much as I could…and…when you were done eating…you asked me out.”

“So, I ate at your restaurant alone, and then _I_ asked _you_ out?” Ali said. "Sounds like role reversal to me."

Ashlyn smiled and nodded. “Yup. And, we’ve been together ever since.”

Ali smiled back. “Married to a chef. Sounds…wonderful”, she said, and stared into Ashlyn’s eyes.

“I can still cook”, Ashlyn said, still smiling. “Even in this universe.”

 

********

 

Ashlyn and Ali were sitting on Ali’s couch. Ashlyn had made a lemon tart with fresh whipped cream for dessert, and they took that, the candle and the rest of the bottle of wine and their glasses into the living room. Ali was facing forward on the couch, and Ashlyn was sitting sideways on the couch, her arm on the backrest, her knees almost touching Ali’s thigh.

“That was wonderful. Thank you”, Ali said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it”, Ashlyn said. 

Ali down and then looked up at Ashlyn and said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What we were talking about when we were at dinner the other night, about whether or not our jobs are the same-“

“Uh oh, back to serious conversation again, huh?”

Ali smiled a bit sheepishly and said, “I just want to know…well, look, I know that you people in the Special Forces operate in a world with a lot of grey area…so, I mean, I’m just wondering…” she trailed off.

“What?” Ashlyn urged gently.

“I mean, if you kill someone…how do you…” Ali trailed off.

“How do I live with myself?” Ashlyn articulated for her. “You’re wondering how I live with myself if I kill someone?”

Ali looked at Ashlyn and said, “Yes. I suppose that’s what I’m wondering.”

Ashlyn set her glass of wine down on the coffee table. She thought for a minute and then said, “Well, if it’s a bad person, doing bad things, then I feel justified pulling the trigger.”

“But, you can't just go around killing people. I mean, it’s against the law.”

“Breaking the law doesn’t mean you’re always doing something bad.”

“But, when people break the law, bad things happen.”

"When bad people do bad things, bad things happen", Ashlyn said.

"We need law and order, Ashlyn."

Ashlyn looked at Ali for a moment and then said, “If breaking the law meant saving the life of someone you love, would you break the law?”

Ali looked back at Ashlyn. She was torn. Of course I would want to save the life of someone I love, she thought, but still…the law is the law, and I’m committed to upholding the law. “I don’t know. I mean, I think so, but the law is still the la-“

Ashlyn leaned in closer and looked Ali right in the eye. “Because I wouldn’t think twice about killing someone if it meant saving you.”

Ali stared at her back. Her thoughts were swirling right now. Ashlyn, sitting so close…her scent…her intense eyes…the conversation they were having…the two glasses of wine she had drank…Ali couldn’t put everything together at the moment, but she did know one thing. All of a sudden, in this moment, she felt safe. She felt safe, and she felt…loved. She wasn’t sure if she was in love with Ashlyn Harris, but she felt safe and loved. Loved, or at least that someone cared deeply for her. Ali opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was “I-I-I…”

Ashlyn looked at her for a moment longer, then got up off the couch. She took Ali’s wine glass from her hand and set it on the coffee table, then climbed on top of Ali and straddled Ali’s lap. She took her left hand and ran her fingers through Ali’s hair, and then took her right hand and cupped Ali’s chin. She looked into Ali’s eyes for just a moment longer, and then leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. Ali closed her eyes as she felt their lips connect. Their lips remained pressed for a moment, and then this time Ali opened the kiss, and Ashlyn felt Ali’s tongue enter her mouth and lightly touch hers. They stayed there, locked, tongues dancing for a minute, and then Ali unbuckled Ashlyn’s belt and tossed it to the floor. She took off Ashlyn's tie, unbuttoned Ashlyn’s shirt, and Ashlyn took it off the rest of the way. Ali stared at Ashlyn’s chiseled physique. She traced a wicked-looking scar that ran across the left side of Ashlyn’s rib cage with her finger, and then looked up into Ashlyn’s eyes. Ashlyn leaned down to kiss Ali again, and then she stood up and pulled Ali to her feet. She pulled the shoulders of Ali’s dress down, and then Ali stepped out as it fell to the floor. Ashlyn looked at Ali again and planted another lingering kiss on her lips, and then she picked Ali up and carried her into the bedroom.

 

********

 

Ali and Ashlyn laid naked in Ali’s bed. Ali was on her side, and Ashlyn was behind her, lightly kissing Ali’s neck and gently running her fingers through Ali’s hair. Ali’s eyes were heavy and she felt herself starting to drift towards sleep.

“Yes”, Ashlyn said.

Ali tilted her head back so she could see Ashlyn’s face. “Yes, what?”

“’Yes’ to your question from dinner a few nights ago” Ashlyn said. “It was me.”

“What was you?” Ali asked.

“You asked me if I killed those two mafia guys and those three gangbangers.”

“That’s right, I did”, Ali remembered.

Ashlyn looked right at Ali and said, “Yes. I did. It was me."

Ali looked into Ashlyn’s eyes. She reached up and ran her fingers through Ashlyn’s hair, and then said, “I know.” Then she leaned in and kissed Ashlyn on the lips and asked, “Why did you just tell me?”

“Because you asked me.”

“I know, but why did you tell me? You didn’t have to answer that question.”

Ashlyn looked back into Ali’s eyes and said, “Because I want us to give it a shot at being together. And, if we’re going to do that, I want us to be honest with each other. Even if that means telling each other things that we may not want to say or hear.”

Ali smiled slightly. She kissed Ashlyn on the lips again and then turned her head back. Together, she thought. With an assassin. But together. But with an assassin. This is just…crazy. Flip flop, flip flop, her mind went, as she drifted away into sleep, Ashlyn still lightly kissing her neck and gently running her fingers through her hair.


	13. Chapter 13

Ali was sitting in her office, downing her second cup of coffee. When she woke up this morning Ashlyn was gone. She had left Ali a nice little thank you note with two x’s and two o’s at the bottom, along with a phone number. Last night had been kind of like a weird, blurry dream, and today she felt a little disoriented and out of it. Working a big case. Come home. Door ajar. Draw gun. Enter apartment. Ashlyn in her apartment. Making dinner. Dinner date. Drink wine. Talk. Make love. Fall asleep cuddling. With a woman who breaks the law and takes matters into her own hands. How it is that I haven’t hauled her in yet, I just don’t know, Ali thought. I mean, Christ, I’m a law enforcement agent. But…I just can’t seem to get myself to bring her in. This whole thing is just…well, she didn’t know what this whole thing was, and she was trying to work through that in her head when her phone rang.

“Krieger”, she answered.

It was Wambach. “Come down to my office.”

“Be right there”, Ali said, and hung up. Time to get back on the clock, she said to herself. She headed down the hall to Wambach’s office. Megan and Hope were already there.

“Close the door”, Wambach said as Ali walked in. Ali did so and then leaned back against the wall near the door.

“We’ve confirmed that both Giusseppe Marano and Kody Mitchell, along with all of their top dogs, are going to be present at this meeting”, Megan said.

“That’s right.” Hope nodded her head in confirmation.

“Alright”, Wambach said. “All three of you - assemble your teams. Krieger – you’re taking point. JOCT has the lead on this one. We’ll meet back here in my office in two days for a tactical briefing.” She looked at all three of them. “I want to net every single one of these guys.”

“Uh…okay…” Ali trailed off. Hope looked over at her as she did.

“Think the sniper will show up?” Megan asked the room.

“In a way I kind of hope so”, Hope said. “Maybe she” Hope emphasized the word ‘she’ and looked at Ali as she did, “can take out a few of these scumbags for us before we net the rest.”

“Cut it out”, Wambach said to Hope. “If this sniper shows up, we’re netting her – or him…whoever the hell it is – too.” Ali’s breath involuntarily hitched, and Wambach looked at her. “Krieger – you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah…I’m fine.”

“Alright”, Wambach said. She looked at the three of them. “Get to work.”

Ali walked back to her office and Megan headed for the FBI office. Hope walked behind Ali.

“Hey”, she said. “You got a minute?”

“Sure”, she said. “Come on in”. They both walked into Ali’s office. Ali sat down, but Hope remained standing. “What’s up?” Ali asked.

“Everything alright?” Hope asked.

“Y-y-yeah, uh…sure”, Ali said. “Why?”

“Because you seem distracted”, Hope said, staring at her. “And your breath caught when Wambach mentioned the sniper.” Hope was direct.

“No, no…I’m fine”, Ali said. “Just…tired.”

Hope eyed her. “Anything I should know about?”

“Uh…like what?”

“You tell me.”

“Um…no…not really.”

“Okay.” Hope leaned her hands on Ali’s desk and then said, “This is the biggest raid we’ve ever executed. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to grab the top brass of the two biggest crime organizations in this city and bring them down.” She looked at her hard. “Just make sure you’ve got your head screwed on right.” 

Ali exhaled deeply. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright...alright. See you soon.” She stared at Ali for a moment longer and then turned around and left her office. Ali sat in her chair, took a deep breath and exhaled. Please, Ashlyn, don’t show up to this meeting, she thought. Just let us do our jobs, and we can end this whole thing without any more people getting killed…including maybe you.

 

********

 

Felipe Sosa walked into Da Crow Bar, a dive bar in Chicago’s Eastside neighborhood. Kody Mitchell sat at a table in the back. Since incorporating most of the city’s street gangs under the Disciple umbrella, he had expanded his territory, and now the Disciples had hangouts all over the city. Kody liked to move around and hold meetings in different places. You can never be too careful.

“All good?” Kody asked as Felipe sat down.

“We all good. Got soldiers ready. We’ll bring some heat to this meeting, just in case shit gets ugly with the greaseballs.”

“What about the woman from JOCT? Did you pay her a visit yet?” Kody was hoping so. He wanted to hear a good story.

“No, not yet. We were gonna go last night, but we had a problem down in Beverly area. Some muthafucka trying to sling dope under our radar. We took him.”  
“He still alive?”

“Part of him is, maybe.” Felipe smiled. “We’ll get the JOCT woman tonight.”

“Cool”, Kody said. “Give her some extra hurt, for waitin’ a day.” He smiled.

Felipe smiled back. “You got it”, he said. He and Kody locked their hands in a serpentine shake, and then Felipe stood up and walked out of the bar.

 

********

 

Ali was sitting at her desk. She was supposed to be putting together the tactical plan for how JOCT, the FBI and the CPD were all going to work together to raid this meeting at the warehouse, but instead she was staring at the piece of paper that Ashlyn had left on her bed this morning. Should I call her? She wondered. I want to, but I shouldn’t. I’m falling for her, but she’s an assassin. But I want to, but I shouldn’t. But I’m falling…She was drifting in and out of that train of thought when her office phone rang.

“Krieger” she answered.

“So…dinner again, tonight?” It was Ashlyn.

“Ash–“ Ali stopped herself before saying Ashlyn’s full name. “What are you doing? You can’t call me here!” Ali hissed into the phone.

“What? Are you telling me that the lovers of other JOCT agents don’t call them at the office?” Ashlyn said, and Ali could tell she was smiling.

“Well, maybe they do, but their lov-“ Ali was about to say ‘their lovers aren’t suspects in the murders of five people’, and then thought to herself, ‘lover’, is it now?

“So…dinner again, tonight?” Ashlyn repeated.

“Another date? Already?” Ali asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about you” Ashlyn said. “A lot today. I don’t have a big case to occupy all of my time.”

“Well, if it wasn’t for you, I w-“ Ali was about to say, ‘I wouldn’t have a big case,’ but then remembered she was on the office phone. “Well, dinner depends”, Ali said.

“On what?”

“Will you be there in the morning when I wake up, Houdini?”

“I’m sorry. I really wanted to stay, but I had something to take care of”, Ashlyn lied. She actually hadn’t had anything to do, but she had left anyway. She was falling for Ali, falling hard, and she was pretty sure that Ali knew it, but on the other hand, she didn’t want to appear too lovestruck. Best to keep a little mystery, she thought. Plus, things were happening fast, and she needed a bit of time to think. Hence, the disappearing act this morning.

“I don’t even want to know what you needed to take care of.” Ali said.

“So, how about my place tonight?” Ashlyn asked.

“I…shouldn’t.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Ashlyn feigned exasperation. “We can either go out, or I can come to your place again.”

“Let’s just do that – my place again. Is that okay?”

”Yep. You let me know when you’re getting off work, and I’ll come over. Unless you want me to let myself in again and have dinner on the table for you when you get home.” Ashlyn giggled mischievously.

“You know what? Just surprise me.” Ali said, in a tone that was part defeated, part incredulous and part happy.

“Okay. See you tonight. Have a great day at work, beautiful.”

“Bye, you”, Ali said, then hung up the phone, smiling and shaking her head as she did.

 

********

 

Ashlyn opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was 3am. After she had hung up the phone with Ali, she had considered sneaking into Ali’s place and surprising her with dinner again, but she had decided against it, so she had just waited for Ali to call her and tell her that she was leaving work. Ashlyn had asked her what she wanted to eat, and then had picked up takeout with dessert and another bottle of wine on the way over. She and Ali had eaten dinner and dessert at the kitchen table again, and then had skipped the couch and gone straight to the bedroom. That had been almost four hours ago. Ali had fallen asleep almost two hours ago, on her side again, with Ashlyn behind her, gently stroking her hair. Ali was lightly purring in her sleep. Ashlyn had hacked into the JOCT mainframe earlier today and saw that there was indeed a meeting set up between the Maranos and the Disciples. She saw that a combined team consisting of JOCT, the FBI and CPD was planning on raiding the meeting, and that Ali would be leading the raid. Ashlyn knew that, between their night together last night and running point on this raid, Ali would be wiped out. She also figured that this might be the last night she would see Ali for the next few days until after the raid, so she had taken the initiative and called Ali so she could see her tonight.

Now, laying in Ali’s bed, thoughts of their relationship were spinning in Ashlyn's head, and she was having trouble sleeping, so she gently kissed the back of Ali's neck and got up. Ali stirred slightly, and Ashlyn smoothed her hair. The streetlights on Ali’s block were out, but the pale moonlight dimly lit the apartment. Ashlyn stared at Ali’s sleeping form in the dimly lit bedroom and kissed her on the head, then walked to the living room. She kept the lights off and went to the balcony door. She was about to open the curtains covering the door and then open the door itself, but as a matter of habit she peeled the curtains back just a bit and looked out. She scanned the street as her hand went to pull the curtain rod. Halsted was a busy street, even at 3am. Ashlyn went to pull the rod when something caught her eye. Across the street and a few houses down, four men exited a car. One was carrying a duffel bag. Ashlyn stared at them, trying to make them out in the darkness. Something didn’t feel right. They waited for a car to pass them, and then they slinked across the street. Ashlyn noted the way they walked, and her senses heightened. Another car passed them going the other way. Ashlyn caught a glimpse of their faces in the headlight, and her eyes shot open. She recognized one of the faces. It was Felipe Sosa, one of the top lieutenants in the Disciples. She had seen his picture on the JOCT website. Ashlyn stared into the darkness at the four figures approaching, and her eyes narrowed into slits. There was only one reason these four men were here, less than half a block from Ali’s apartment and approaching. She stared for another moment as the men reached the sidewalk on Ali’s side of the street, and then she closed the curtains.

 

********

 

Felipe Sosa reached 1725 South Halsted. The woman’s apartment was on the second floor. He looked at his men and smiled. He had brought along three of his meanest, and a gym bag containing duct tape, pliers and a small blowtorch. This was going to be fun. He gave the men the nod, and they went through the gate and approached the main door to the apartment complex.

 

********

 

“Ali! Ali!” Ashlyn whispered loudly as she shook the sleeping brunette.

“W-w-w-what?” Ali said sleepily as Ashlyn rousted her.

“Someone’s coming for you”, Ashlyn said. “We got hostiles. Hurry up! Get up, put on some clothes, some shoes, and grab your gun.” Ashlyn quickly pulled on her jeans and tank top. She looked at her own shoes – black dress boots - and decided to stay barefoot. I should have gone with the combat boots look, she thought. Damn.

“W-w-what?” Ali said, as she jumped out of bed. She stumbled to her dresser, waking up quickly as the adrenaline flew into her veins. She put on a pair of jeans and a shirt, then put on a pair of running shoes. Then she went into the living room and pulled the 9MM off of the holster that was hanging next to her jacket on the door of her apartment. She checked the clip and then came back to the bedroom.

“Stay in the bedroom” Ashlyn said. Ashlyn moved quietly to the front door of Ali’s apartment and put her ear to it. She could hear footsteps – heavy male footsteps – coming up the stairs. She came back into the bedroom.

“Who is it?” Ali said. She was alert but not panicked.

Ashlyn admired her poise for a moment and then said, “Disciples.”

“How do you know that? And what are they doing here?” 

“My guess is they're here to warn you off of raiding their meeting with the Maranos.”

Ali stared at her for a moment and then said, “Wait – how did you know there was a meeting? And how did you know we were going to raid it?”

“Shhhh”, Ashlyn said. “Where's your .22.”

“Ashlyn!” Ali said. “I can’t just give you a weap-“

“Shhhhh”, Ashlyn said. The footsteps had stopped, and someone was picking at the lock on the door. She looked at Ali. “Give me a fucking gun, baby”, she hissed.

Ali shook her head. “I can’t”, she said, almost apologetically. She also registered that Ashlyn had called her 'baby'.

Ashlyn stared at her in disbelief for a second, a look that said, I can’t fucking believe you still need to follow the goddamn rules even at a time like this, and then said, “Stay here”, and then started to walk out of the bedroom.

“Wait – where are you going?”

“I’m gonna kill these bastards”, Ashlyn said.

“Wait, Ashlyn – no!” Ali hissed, but Ashlyn was already on her way back out to the living room. Ashlyn stood behind where the front door would open and listened. She could hear someone still picking at the lock. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing and ran the scenarios through her head. If they kicked the door open, she would go at the first man right away, and then take them out one by one. If they picked the lock, she would wait until they were all in and then take them all out as they stood in the middle of the living room. There were four of them, but Ali was armed, and they had the element of surprise. A gun in my hand would be nice right about now, Ashlyn thought, but oh well. Sometimes you go with what you have. These guys were bigger, but combat isn't about who's bigger - it's about who's better and who's more motivated, and Ashlyn was as good as anyone when it came to close-quarter combat, and…well, they were coming for her woman, so she was plenty motivated. These men were coming to hurt the woman she was falling in love with, and they were going to pay, gun or no gun in her hand.

Ashlyn opened her eyes and listened hard. She could hear Ali breathing heavy in the bedroom ten feet away. She heard the lock give way, and the door slowly opened. The first man entered, then the second, and then the third. Felipe Sosa came in last. They were all facing the other way from Ashlyn. Ashlyn stilled herself and counted three…two…one…

“Freeze!" Ali screamed, as she flipped on the living room light. She was standing in the doorway of her bedroom and had her gun trained on the four men. She had taken action because, despite whatever reason these men were here, she didn’t want anyone to get hurt unnecessarily. Her plan was to hold them up, then have Ashlyn call the police and then hold them at gunpoint until the police arrived. Ashlyn squinted for a second, her eyes shocked by the sudden light.

“Muthafucka!” One of the men said, as he and his associates put their hands to their eyes.

“Fuckin’ bitch!” Another one said. He started to draw his weapon. No such luck on her hoped-for plan, Ali thought, as she instinctually fired. She hit the man in the shoulder, and he dropped his gun and went down screaming, clutching the wound. The two other men besides Felipe drew their guns. Ashlyn, calculating that there was no way that Ali would be able to shoot both of them without getting shot, exploded into action. She sprung forward, her eyes now fully adjusted to the light, and kicked the gun out of the hands of the closest man. The man screamed as the bones in his hand shattered, then looked over towards Ashlyn, and as he did, Ashlyn delivered a vicious blow to the man’s neck. The man’s eyes went wide, and he made a gurgling sound and then fell to the floor. Ashlyn spun around to the third man, who had his gun almost in firing position. She lowered her level, shot in under his arm like a wrestler, and struck her palm against his knee. She heard the kneecap shatter, and the man howled in pain. Ashlyn came up hard and fast, striking the man in the groin. His legs buckled and he went down to his hands and knees, and as his face was on its way down, it met Ashlyn’s elbow on its way up. There was a crack, and the man fell face-first down onto Ali’s living room floor. Ashlyn grabbed his head and twisted it violently. There was another crack, and the man went limp. Ashlyn whirled around and saw Felipe Sosa lunging for the gun of the first man who had fallen. Apparently, Felipe hadn’t brought a gun. Ashlyn’s guess was that he was going to watch with delight as his three henchmen tortured Ali, and then he was going to have his way with her. That thought made her blood run cold. Felipe reached the gun, but just as he picked it up, Ali tackled him into a bookshelf. Felipe cursed but recovered and grabbed Ali’s hair, forcing her head back. He reached up with his gun hand to pistol whip the JOCT woman, but Ashlyn swooped in from the right, grabbed his wrist and twisted it backward, shattering the bones. Felipe screamed, and then Ashlyn put him in a crippling arm lock. She applied pressure and snapped Felipe’s arm at the elbow. Felipe screamed again, and then Ashlyn pivoted her body and threw him over her shoulder and onto the coffee table. It shattered, and Felipe went down on top of a mixture of broken glass and wood. Then Ashlyn kicked Felipe in the kneecap, effectively ending his ability to move anywhere.

“Fuckin’…bitch” Felipe moaned.

Ashlyn looked at him and bent down but she heard Ali say, “No!” She looked over at Ali, walked over to her and cupped her face.

“Are you okay, baby?” Ashlyn said.

Ali nodded but didn’t say anything. She was still trying to process what had just happened. Twenty seconds had passed. She had shot one man in the shoulder and tackled Felipe into the bookshelf. Ashlyn had killed two others and crippled a third, using just her hands. Ashlyn traced Ali’s line of vision back to the grisly scene in the living room. The man that Ali had shot was moaning on the ground, blood coming out of his wound. Felipe was still muttering curses. Ashlyn looked at him and started walking over to him when she spotted the gym bag that they had brought. She bent over, opened it up, and grimaced when she saw the contents. She stared into the bag for a few more seconds, and then walked over to Ali. She grabbed the gun out of Ali’s hands and walked over to Felipe. She knelt down and stared Felipe in the eyes, then aimed the barrel of the gun point blank in Felipe’s face and pulled the trigger.

“Jesus Christ!” Ali exclaimed.

Ashlyn looked at the fourth man, still moaning and lying on the ground. She put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.

“Ashlyn!” Ali yelled. “What the fuck?!”

Ashlyn looked at the four bodies lying on the floor, then looked up at Ali, who was staring at her, incredulous.


	14. Chapter 14

"Damn, Ashlyn,” Ali said. She stared at Ashlyn as Ashlyn got up. Ashlyn started to walk towards Ali and was about to hand her the gun when they heard a voice calling from the street.

“Sosa! What the fuck is going on up there? I heard shots!”

Ashlyn walked to the balcony doors and opened them. She peered out and saw another man crossing the street. The man looked up just as Ashlyn raised her gun and took aim.

“Shit!” the man yelled and started backpeddling.

Ashlyn steadied her hands for another second and then squeezed the trigger. It was a far shot and a tough shot, especially in the dark with a 9MM, but she grazed the man in the arm.

“Fuck!” the man screamed. He scrambled towards the car behind the one that Ashlyn had seen the other four men come out of. Ashlyn took aim and fired again but missed. The man jumped in the car and started up the engine. Ashlyn fired again and the rear window on the driver’s side shattered. It was too dark, and the target was too far out of range to hit with a 9MM, even for someone as good as Ashlyn. The man swore again and sped off. Ashlyn stared at the departing car for a moment and then went inside the living room and ran towards the front door.

“Ashlyn!” Ali yelled. Ashlyn stopped and looked at Ali. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m gonna run that guy down and put two in his head.”

“Ashlyn!”

“What!”

“Stop! J-j-just stop!”

“What! He’s getting away, Ali!”

“Jesus Christ, Ashlyn. Look around you.”

“What?”

“You just killed four people!”

“Yes, I did. And it’d do it again." Ashlyn stared at Ali. "These guys came here tonight to hurt you, Ali.” Ali stared at her, so Ashlyn rolled on. “Do you know what’s in that bag?” She pointed to the duffel bag. “Duct tape. Pliers. A blow torch. They were going to torture you.” Ali’s mouth dropped open. Ashlyn looked at her and said, “They needed to die.”

Ali stood there, staring at the gym bag, quiet for a minute, as the gravity of what might have possibly happened sunk in. Then she looked up. Her big brown eyes stared into Ashlyn's. “Thank you", she said.

Ashlyn smiled slightly and nodded.

"Ashlyn", Ali spoke after a moment. "You didn’t have to kill them. We could have taken them in.”

“What? ‘Taken them in’?" Ashlyn asked. "And what's this 'we' business, Ali?"

“Well, I could have taken them in. Sosa, and the guy I shot. They were still alive. I could have arrested them and taken them in.”

“And how were you going to explain that?” Ashlyn asked. “Like you took out four armed men by yourself, killing two of them and critically wounding two others? I mean, Wambach wouldn’t believe you’re that good. She’d know you had help.” She stood still for a moment and then walked over to Ali and handed her gun back.

“Right – I would tell her, I did it with your help", Ali said.

“Ali, I can’t be here. What would have happened if your fellow agents showed up, and I’m standing here, in this room? How are you going to explain that? That you and your “civilian” girlfriend took out four armed men? What do you think would happen next? They would question me and find out who I am. They’d put it together, and they'd realize that I'm the one who's been taking out the trash.”

Ali thought for a moment and then said, “Ashlyn – y-y-you went…crazy...” she trailed off.

“Well, if I hadn’t been here…” Ashlyn let is trail off, not even able to verbalize the awful thoughts that crossed her mind.

“I know, and…you know I’m forever grateful. But still...I mean…just seeing you…just go off like that…” Ali trailed off. She had never seen anything like that. It had been like watching something out of a Steven Seagal movie. Sure, as a law enforcement agent she was more desensitized to violence than the average person, but seeing Ashlyn take out three men by hand, and then, especially, seeing her take the gun and pull the trigger at point blank range on the two that were still alive…just to actually really see something like that, up-close and personal, well…it had unnerved her. It's one thing to know that someone's a sniper. It's another thing to see someone snap a neck, crush a windpipe, break arms, legs, wrists and hands and then shoot people in the head at point blank range right in front of you. Especially if that someone is a woman who just crawled out of your bed five minutes ago. “Ashlyn, you lost control”, Ali said.

“And you don’t have enough control!” Ashlyn flashed anger. “How were you going to 'control' this, huh? These guys came here, and they were going to hurt you. They deserved to die.” Ashlyn stared hard at Ali and then said, “Someone had to bring them to justice.”

“But that’s our job, Ashlyn. To bring people to justice.”

“Well, you’re not doing your job well enough! If you guys were doing your job, then people like this wouldn’t even be out on the streets. Look - I’ve brought down six major crime figures in the last week, and a few of their henchmen as well. Just me alone. What have you and your whole organization done? Nothing! You wait around, and you follow your rules and you laws, and you get nothing done, while bad people go on, murdering and robbing and raping and hurting, like these guys were going to do to you tonight!”

“But we need rules, Ashlyn! We need laws and rules to have a well-functioning society. If we start just taking the law into our own hands and shooting people whenever we feel like it, were no better than the criminals we try to protect people from.”

“Don’t fucking compare me to these assholes! I don’t go around killing, mugging and raping innocent people. I take out people like this, so good people can live their lives without having to worry about being attacked. I’m nothing like these criminals. I just happen to have what it takes to stand up and fight against people like them.”

“Ashlyn – you are a criminal! I mean, by killing people the way you just did…” Ashlyn just stared at her with an incredulous look, so Ali said, “Well, technically, you’re a criminal. Look – I understand you were protecting me tonight, and…of course you how much that means to me. But, God damn it, Ashlyn…I mean, Jesus, look at this”, Ali said, as she held her arms out to the room.

Ashlyn stared at Ali and then took a half-step towards her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll kill anyone who threatens you, and I’m not afraid to say that or do that. Bad people must go down.”

"Ashlyn, you can’t just keep killing people", Ali said. "You need to get under control. I mean, for you to just snap like that…”

“I didn’t snap, Ali! I was protecting you!”

“You had already protected me! These guys were down. You didn’t need to take my gun and shoot them point blank in the face.”

"I told you I wouldn’t think twice about killing someone if it meant saving you. You don't just give people like this a slap on the wrist.” Ashlyn stared at Ali. She wanted to wrap her up in a hug right now, but there was something in Ali's face that said ‘don’t’. Ashlyn stared at her for a moment longer and then went over to the bodies and started trying to clean up the mess.

Ali watched Ashlyn in silence for a minute and then said, “How did you know about the meeting between the Maranos and the Disciples?”

“What?” Ashlyn said, as she started hauling bodies towards the front door.

“You knew about the meeting. How did you know?” Ali asked. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, “Wait – did you hack into the JOCT database?”

“Yup, I sure did”, Ashlyn said. “And I’m going to be at that meeting, and I’m going to wipe out Marano and that dirtbag Kody Mitchell and the rest of their crew, too.”

Ali stared at Ashlyn. Of course Ashlyn had hacked the JOCT database. That was also how she had gotten Ali’s address and office line. She stared at Ashlyn for another moment as Ashlyn gathered up the dead men’s guns and put them in the gym bag. “They’re going to cancel the meeting”, Ali said.

“What?”

“They’re going to cancel the meeting. Mitchell will hear about this, especially with Sosa missing, and the Disciples will cancel the meeting.” The impact of that hit Ali as she thought about what Wambach and Hope had said, that this meeting may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that netting the entire cast would be a big win for them.

“Well, then I’ll find some other way to take them down.”

Ali rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Jesus, Ashlyn. If you hadn’t killed Sosa and that other guy, we could have taken them in”, she said again.

“And done what?!” Ashlyn said indignantly, staring at Ali.

“Questioned them. Leaned on them. Offered them a deal. Had them turn state’s evidence. We could have used them somehow to get to Giusseppi Marano and Kody Mitchell.” Ali stared at Ashlyn. “If we had followed the law, we would have them in custody right now.”

“Jesus Christ, Ali. Really?” Ashlyn shook her head, incredulous.

“Yes, really. That’s why we should have followed the law.”

“There were four men coming here to torture you and maybe kill you, and you’re worried about ‘following the law’? Even after what just happened?” Ashlyn shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I don’t need another meeting to be set up. I’ll find the rest of these guys the way I found the first ones. And I definitely don’t need a damn law for that.”

Ali was silent for a moment as she looked around. “Look at this mess…how can I explain this?”

Ashlyn took another step towards her. “I’m cleaning it up. All you have to do is clean the blood off of the rug, or just toss it.”

“Cleaning up is not the point, Ashlyn. You’re out of control. And…"Ali trailed off.

Ashlyn heard something in her voice. She looked up and said, "And what?"

"And…" Ali trailed off again.

Ashlyn continued to look at Ali. She could tell what Ali was about to say. Something along the lines of, "I don't know if I can be with someone who operates the way you do." Ashlyn walked over towards her. She reached up slowly and cupped Ali’s cheeks with her hands, then put her forehead against Ali’s and closed her eyes. “I-I-I’m falling for you, Ali. I’m falling for you, and I won’t let anyone ever hurt you. And, if people try…they need to be punished…because that is justice…” They stayed like that for another minute, foreheads touching, and then Ashlyn pulled back. She looked into Ali’s eyes and gave her the gentlest kiss on the lips. Then she pulled back and walked to the front door.

“Where are you going?” Ali asked.

“I’m going to get the car these guys came in. I’m going to pull it around the alley and put the bodies in the back. Then I’ll drive the car and dump it somewhere on the south side.” Ashlyn looked at Ali and then said, “And then I’m going to find Mitchell and Marano, and I'm going to kill them, too.” She looked at Ali for another moment. In the far distance she heard a siren. Someone must have heard the shots and called the police. Ashlyn looked at Ali and said, “We can leave the man you shot here, if you want. You can tell the cops that he broke in, and that you had to shoot him. That will explain the shots and the shouting in the apartment. They’ll believe you. You’re in your own home, and he’s a gang member, and you’re a law enforcement officer. If they don’t believe you, get Hope involved. She’ll vouch for you.”

Ali looked at Ashlyn for a moment. Part of her wanted to pull her gun on Ashlyn and turn her in, to contain her before she went ballistic again, for her own protection and for that of other good people around her, but part of her was glad that Ashlyn had just reduced the world's criminal population by four, as grisly as she had done it. Underneath it all, it was true - Ashlyn had saved her life. She thought for a moment and then nodded her head. Ashlyn was right. They had to make it look real enough to provide a plausible explanation, at least for now. Ashlyn and Ali dragged the body of the man who Ali had shot back to the middle of the living room, right where he had fallen, then Ashlyn took a gun out of the gym bag and put it in his hands. It was sloppy, Ashlyn and Ali both thought, and Ali knew that Hope probably wouldn't ultimately buy it, but it would at least pass for now, until the fingerprint and other lab tests came back. Then she would cross her fingers that Hope would help cover for her. Ashlyn went out the door, and Ali just stood there.

Ashlyn came back ninety seconds later. She loaded Sosa’s body and the two other bodies minus the body of the man that Ali had shot into the car, then came up for one last look around and grabbed her shoes. The sirens were getting nearer. She put her shoes on and then looked at Ali. Ali stared at her for a moment and then said, “You’re out of control, Ashlyn”, Ali said. “I think you need help. The law-"

“You’re welcome”, Ashlyn cut her off, and then walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Ali stood there, staring at the door for another moment. She heard a police car screech to a halt outside, and then she found her phone and called Hope.


	15. Chapter 15

Hope arrived at Ali’s ten minutes after the first police car had arrived. Ali walked her through what had happened. She had been dozing in her bed when she heard someone trying to break into her place. She had grabbed her gun and had hid in her bedroom. She had heard the intruder open her front door and come into her living room, then she had turned on the lights and yelled “Freeze!” The man had gone for his gun, and Ali had been forced to fire in self-defense, hitting the man in the shoulder. The man had gone down, but he had tried to fire again so Ali had reacted, again in self-defense, this time hitting the man in the temple. She had stood there in shock for a few minutes, then had heard the sirens, and that’s when she had called Hope. Hope wasn’t convinced that was the whole story, and made a note to dig deeper later, but she took Ali’s statement, more as a formality than anything else. Then Ali had called Megan and Wambach while the police crime scene unit went through Ali’s apartment.

Now, Ali, Megan, Hope and Wambach were all in Wambach’s office. It was 9am the next day.

“So the Disciples sent a man to Ali’s apartment”, Hope opened up with what she already knew so they could brief Wambach and Megan.

“For what?” Megan asked.

“I don’t know", Ali said. "Maybe to scare me, to make sure we hadn’t found out about their meeting with the Maranos, or if we had, that we weren’t going to drop in.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“And, get this: three more Disciple bodies were found on the south side earlier this morning”, Hope said.

“What?” Wambach said.

“They were found in a car registered to one of them. Two were stuffed in the trunk. One was in the back seat.”

“Jesus”, Wambach said. “How did they die?”

“One had a crushed windpipe, along with a broken hand”, Hope reported. “Another had his neck snapped, along with a broken kneecap, a ruptured groin, and fractured skull. And, get this - Felipe Sosa was the third body.”

“What?” Wambach said again and stood up from her desk.

“Yeah. He was shot in the head at close range. He also had a broken wrist, a broken arm, and a broken kneecap”, Hope said.

“Jesus", Wambach said. "Crushed windpipe? Neck snapped? Shot in the head at close range? Broken bones everywhere? What the hell is going on? Are you telling me that someone took out two guys by hand, then crippled Felipe Sosa and then shot him at point blank range?” she asked, incredulous.

“That’s what it seems like”, Hope said.

“Well, who the hell did this?” Wambach demanded.

“We don’t know”, Hope said, “but the wounds indicate a professional carried this out. Especially the crushed windpipe and the neck snap. Very few people can do that. It’s the kind of stuff they only teach in elite military units. Like the Army Special Forces”, Hope said and looked at Ali. 

“Wait”, Wambach said, “Is it possible that this damn sniper killed these guys? Maybe this sniper is ex-military? Army Special Forces? Is he now taking people out by hand and close-up shots to the head too?”

“We don’t know”, Hope said again. "Again - it could be a she." She shot Ali another look. 

Wambach was silent for a minute and then said, “Well, I’m glad you’re alright, Krieger. Way to take care of yourself. I’d give you the day off, but we’re too close to this meeting. So, hang tough. Everyone – stay on task for the meeting. I want to review the tactical briefing tomorrow.”

 

********

 

“So, what the fuck happened?”

Kody Mitchell was sitting at table in a bar called Stones, on the near west side of Chicago. Flanking him on either side were Dominik Lancaster and Terrell Jackson. Across the table from Kody was Scout, the man who Ashlyn had shot from Ali’s balcony. The bodies of Felipe Sosa and two of the three men he had brought with him to Ali’s apartment had been found earlier today. The body of the fourth man had been found at the JOCT woman's apartment. Now, Scout was giving his report of what happened at that apartment to Kody Mitchell. He was nervous, and rightfully so.

“So, I was there, in the second car. Felipe and the boys went up to the woman’s crib, and then I see a light go on, and then I hear a gunshot. Then, like, thirty seconds later, I hear two more gunshots. So I get out of the car, and I shout up to the apartment, and then I see the woman come out. And then I see her raise her arm, and she fucking shoots me in the damn arm! So I high tail it back to the car, and she shoots at me again, and she misses, and then she shoots at me again while I'm startin' the engine, and the rear driver’s side window explodes, and then I took off.”

Kody looked concerned. He wasn’t concerned that Scout had been shot in the arm, but something else was bothering him. “Wait – you said the woman shot you in the arm. Where were you parked?”

“Across the street and a few houses down.”

“So, you were like several hundred feet away", Kody said, in a statement that was more of a question.

“Yeah, I guess so”, Scout said.

“And the woman, she scored a shot on you, a moving target, that far away?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“At night? With a handgun?”

“I guess. I mean, it wasn’t like a rifle or anything.”

“Damn.” Kody said and thought for a moment.

“Bitch is a good shot”, Dominik said. He was a good shot himself. He had risen through the gang ranks by being the go-to drive-by shooter for years until he was promoted to management. He could reliably hit moving targets with a 9MM up to a hundred and fifty feet. But several hundred feet…damn...

“Alright”, Kody said to Scout, then took out his gun and pointed it right at Scout. Scout froze, and Kody said, "Don't ever run again." He kept the gun pointed at Scout for another moment and then said, “Now get the fuck outta here.” Scout got up and left as quickly as he could.

"I thought you were gonna waste him", Dominik said. A Disciple never runs.

"We can still use him", Kody said. Kody knew that Scout served as a confidential informant for some of the local police and sometimes fed him information to pass along to them.

“What I want to know is, how the fuck did that federal woman take out Felipe and the rest of his boys, and then score a shot on Scout from that far away as he was running for the car?” Terrell asked as Kody put away his gun.

“She didn’t”, Kody said, as he got up and started pacing. It wasn’t the JOCT woman. There’s no fucking way she would have taken out four large, mean gangstas by herself, and then been able to hit Scout in the arm from several hundred feet away as he fled the scene. I would have had trouble taking out Felipe and his three boys, Kody thought, and there’s not many people who can make a shot like that, several hundred feet away on a moving target with a fucking handgun. Dominik can’t even make that shot, and he’s the best shooter I know, Kody thought. And then there was the fact that Felipe and the two other bodies had been taken out by someone who knew how to execute with his- or her- hands. Crushed windpipe. Neck snapped. Broken arms and legs and hands, and then the single shot to Felipe, point-blank in the face. This was not the work of some federal agent. This was the work of a professional killer. Maybe the same muthafucker that had shot Cruz, Chang and Williams outside of Mother’s. Sniper…crack shot…hand to hand combat skills...Yeah, this was a military trained soldier. Probably some kind of Special Ops. And Scout had said that the woman had fired at him. A woman. Well I’ll be damned, Kody thought. “This was not the work of the federal woman”, Kody said. “She had help. It was the sniper”, he said to his men.

“Wait, what? Are you sayin’ that the feds are working with the sniper?” Terrell felt an involuntary shiver.

“I don’t know”, Kody said, “but the federal woman knows the sniper, somehow. And that sniper was there, at the apartment last night. And apparently, the sniper is a woman.”

“What?! Another bitch?” Dominik said. "Jesus". Bitches were ruining the world, man.

Kody thought for a minute. There was a connection here…he was about to make it…he thought some more..and…and…and there it was. He said, “I know what to do. I need to talk to old man Marano. Tell him the meeting at the Park Warehouse is off. We're canceling it, for both of ours safety. Set up another meeting. A small meeting. Set it up quick, and keep it on the real DL. Just the top dogs. I got a plan.”

 

********

 

Ashlyn was siting in her tub, head back, thinking. After she had left Ali’s, she had driven the tainted car to the Ridge Park neighborhood in the south side of Chicago. She had left it in a parking lot near an abandoned factory and then ran towards the nearest L station. It had taken her an hour to get back home. She had slept for a few hours but had woken up, thinking about Ali. It was weird – on the one hand, she had been so frustrated with Ali, and why Ali felt such a need to follow rules and laws, in such an emergency situation. But, at the same time, Ali had been right. I hadn’t needed to kill Felipe and the other man still alive, Ashlyn thought. I could have taken the two other bodies and let Ali take them in. I had let my emotions get the best of me, especially after I saw the contents of the gym bag, and I just lost it. Maybe I should have apologized to Ali right then and there, Ashlyn thought. But she hadn’t. She had been in survival mode, the mode that had saved her and so many of her Special Forces comarades so many times during the course of her six-year run in the service. It was like being in the field. You do what you have to do. Plus, she had still been a bit incredulous about Ali being such a stickler for following the law even in a situation like that. Then Ashlyn thought about Ali, and how she looked at Ashlyn after Ashlyn had killed the four men. She thinks I'm fucking nuts, Ashlyn thought. She's probably thinking that there's no way she can be with someone like me. Thinking about that made Ashlyn sad, and she slid down in her tub and submerged her face under the water, as if to wash away the tears that might come.

Ashlyn got out of the tub, dried off and put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. She picked up her phone. It was 1pm. She wanted to talk with Ali. She was hoping that Ali would have called her by now, but her phone hadn’t rang all morning. She had called Ali’s cell at 11am, but Ali hadn’t picked up. She thought about calling Ali’s office line, since she figured she may have a better chance of catching her there, but she knew that would be too risky, especially with what happened last night. I hope she calls me, Ashlyn thought, and then another thought came into her mind. What if she doesn’t call me? What if I crossed the line last night? An I truly out of control? What if she doesn’t want to be with me anymore? That thought made her sad, and she thought, who am I? Am I just an avenger? Is that all I am? Do I not belong in normal society? Am I incapable of having a normal romantic relationship? Maybe I need help. And, what good is avenging the love I lost when my parents were killed, if I'm so consumed by vengeance that I can’t keep a love to replace it? Ashlyn's thoughts started to spin in her head, and she thought, I have to get her back. I need Ali in my life. Ashlyn felt strongly about that, maybe more strongly than she had ever felt about anything. That’s why she had surveyed Ali outside of Mother's, and followed Ali to Marangos, and why she had arranged the meeting with Ali on that side street, even at the risk of Ali actually arresting her and bringing her in. She had bluffed with Ali about the feds not being able to find out who she was. If Ali had arrested her, they would have found out one way or another. But, she had been so drawn to Ali that she rolled the dice, gambling that Ali would be too intrigued and hopefully attracted to her to not bring her in, that she would see the good in Ashlyn, and understand the good she was going, and be able to look the other way at the fact that, yes, Ashlyn was breaking the law by killing criminals.

Sometimes, Ashlyn thought, there is someone in this world, who you just…well, you just have to be with. I can't explain it, she thought, but I’ve got to find a way to talk with her without putting her in suspicion or jeopardy.

 

********

 

Ali was sitting at her desk, drafting up the tactical plan for the meeting. She was still processing what had happened last night, but as the initial shock had worn off, she had found herself thinking more and more about herself being with Ashlyn. There were so many wonderful things about Ashlyn. She was smart, beautiful, caring, talented…in more ways than one. But, seeing her last night had been…well, eye-opening, was the only term she could think of for it right now. It was like, sometimes you just don’t know, until you go. I know Ashlyn’s not a Girl Scout, Ali thought. I know she’s ex-Army Special Forces. I know she’s killed at least five people in the last week and a half using a high-powered rifle at long distances. But, seeing her up-close as she brutally dismantled four people…well, it’s one thing to know that someone is sniper, but it’s another thing to see violence right in front of you like that. Especially from the woman you’re falling for, Ali thought. And, I know she did it to protect me, and I’m grateful. I truly am, and she has to know that. And part of Ali saw the value in being able to operate the way that Ashlyn did. But, to see her lose control like that and just tear those guys apart, with no regard for law and procedure, was just-

“Krieger!” Megan barged into Ali’s office, shaking her out of her thoughts. “Get down to Wambach’s office right now.”

“What’s going on?” Ali said, as she rose from her desk.

 

********

 

"The meeting between the Maranos and the Disciples has been cancelled”, Hope said.

“What!?” Wambach said, incredulous. She was already standing. Bad sign, Ali thought.

"I got the tip from a source", Hope said. “Kody Mitchell found out about Felipe Sosa and his boys."

“What?!” Wambach said again. Her eyes bulged out of her head. “They cancelled?”

“Yup, that’s our latest intel”, Megan said.

Wambach was quiet for a moment, and then addressed the room. “So, let me get this straight. Krieger gets attacked in her home by a single Disciple, which is weird, because they usually travel in packs. Then, some other mystery person, maybe this damn sniper, Special Forces, whatever, takes out three more Disciples, the first two guys by hand, and a point-blank shot to the head of the lieutenant, and then piles their bodies into one of their own cars and dumps it on the south side? And now the meeting is cancelled?” Wambach was growing irate.

“Yeah, afraid so”, Hope said.

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Wambach raised her voice. Ali, Megan and Hope remained silent. “Fuck!” Wambach yelled, and pounded her fist on the desk. “We’ll never get another meeting like that again!” Ali, Megan and Hope remained quiet, while Wambach ran her palms through her hair. She stood there, seething for another moment, and then said, “Alright, listen up. If another meeting is scheduled, I want to know about it ASAP. In the meantime, I want you guys to find this damn sniper, Special Forces, whoever-the-fuck this person is, and bring him, her, whatever, in. Until we get word of another meeting, that is your number one priority. Got it?”

Ali, Megan, and Hope all nodded.

“Now get out of my office”, Wambach said, and pointed towards the door.

 

********

 

Giusseppe Marano sat at a table in Volare, his favorite restaurant, located in a small Italian enclave called La Grangia, near Little Italy. Next to him were his son, Frankie, and Carmine Lippenzo, his new underboss. Across the table were the heads of his arch-rivals, the Disciples: Kody Mitchell, Dominik Lancaster, and Terrell Jackson. The Disciples had asked for this meeting. It was urgent, they had said. They had asked for principles only, and to show good faith, they had offered to come to the Marano family’s territory. Frankie had offered up the suggestion to have them whacked once they arrived. Giusseppe had considered it briefly, but, seeing as how there was already someone out there, running around whacking everyone, regardless of which law-breaking team they played for, he figured that, unfortunately for now the best way to stay alive was to join forces with their rivals until they found this damn sniper and put a piano wire through his neck.

“Four of my guys got hit last night”, Kody began. “One of them was Felipe Sosa. His body and two others were found dumped in a car this morning on the south side. The fourth body was found in the apartment of the JOCT agent in charge."

“How did this happen?” Giusseppe asked, his eyes narrowing.

“We sent some guys over to her apartment", Kody said.

“And why the hell did you do that?” Frankie asked.

“In case she knew we were meeting, we wanted to send a message: don’t show up.” Kody explained.

“So, what happened? Did this JOCT woman take out four of your men all by herself?” Giusseppe asked. At that, Frankie chuckled, and Kody gave him a hard shut-the-fuck-up stare.

“No. It was someone else. Someone else was there with her, in her apartment.” Kody leaned forward. “It was the same muthafucker who’s been snipin’ off our asses.” He moved his finger back and forth between Giusseppe and himself. “Both of our asses.”

“How do you know?” Carmine asked.

“Because whoever did this killed two of my men by hand. One had a crushed windpipe. The other one’s neck was snapped. Felipe was crippled – broken leg, broken arm, and broken wrist. Then, this muthafucker popped a cap in his head at point-blank range. Pigs don’t do shit like that. This shit was done by someone else. Then,” Kody kept going, “this muthafucker shot a fifth man that we had waiting outside the JOCT woman's apartment. Scored an armshot with a 9MM from over two hundred feet away, while this dude was running for the car.”

“So, what are you saying?” Giusseppe asked. He was getting impatient.

“I’m saying that this muthafucker is a professional killer. Most likely military. Probably special ops. Sniper-trained, hand to hand combat, probably good with explosives and all that other shit. And, dig this”, he spread his hands, “it’s a fuckin’ woman.”

“What?” Carmine said, incredulous.

“I said, it’s a woman", Kody repeated himself. "My man outside said it was a woman who shot him.”

“No, no way”, Frankie said. “Ain’t no broad alive that's that good. Your guys just blew it."  
  
Dominik leaned forward and stared at Frankie. “I bet this bitch could kick your ass, you scrawny, spaghetti eatin’ muthafu-” Kody put his hand up, and Dominik silenced himself immediately. Frankie started to say something back, but Giuseppe cut him off.

“So, what do you propose?" Guisseppe asked, looking directly at Kody. 

“We need to waste this sniper ASAFP. And the JOCT woman, as well as that damn FBI girl and fuckin’ Hope Solo”. Kody and Hope had a long rivalry going back years, when Kody was making his way up the gang ranks and Hope was a cop on the beat. “I have a plan. We can draw them out, just them, and then waste them all.”

“How?” Carmine asked.

“Let’s meet again. Find a neutral territory and then get the word out on the street, that it’s just us meeting.” Kody motioned to just the six of them sitting at the table. "We put the word out right before we meet, and those three pigs will hear about it, but they won’t have time to organize a large raid squad. They'll come alone, or with minimal backup, maybe just a few unis. We’ll stack the place with soldiers, and when they come in, we’ll waste the unis, and then grab Solo, the FBI girl, and the JOCT woman.”

"How do you know those three will come?" Frankie asked.

"What, are you fucking kidding me?" Kody looked at Frankie. This guy was a fucking idiot. In all of the criminal world, only in the mob could you actually inherit power. Everywhere else, you had to earn it. Kody couldn't wait until old man Marano kicked the bucket. Once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before he would dismantle the Marano family under Frankie's sure-to-be clueless leadership, and then he would control the city. "You think that JOCT woman, the FBI girl and pig-face Solo are going to skip the chance to try to net us if they hear that the six of us are meeting?" 

“I would agree with Signor Mitchell", Giusseppe said, and Frankie rolled his eyes at his Papa actually agreeing with these low-life street thugs. "The police and the feds will come. But, how do you know the sniper will show up?”

“Because of the JOCT woman.” Kody said.

“Like, they’re working together?" Carmine asked.

“No”, Kody said. He paused, and then revealed the connection he had made earlier. “It’s personal.”

“How do you know that?” Giusseppe asked.

“Because my boys went to the JOCT woman's apartment at 3am. They got there, and all the lights were out. Now, you tell me", Kody said as he leaned forward, "What kind of 'work' would the federal woman and this sniper be doing at the federal woman's apartment together at 3am with the lights out?” He smiled.  
Dominik and Terrell smiled as well. Giusseppe turned up the corners of his mouth as he thought about that. Carmine smiled as well and said, "Good point. I know there's only one kind of 'work' I would be doing at 3am with the lights out." At that, even Frankie smiled, and in a landmark moment, for the first - and probably only - time in history, the head members of the two biggest rival criminal organizations in the city smiled together at the same time, at the same thing, sitting at the same table.

When Giusseppe's smile had cooled, he looked at Kody and said, “You’re sure this sniper will show up?”

Kody nodded. “I’m sure. If she thinks that federal woman is in trouble, she’ll show up. And believe me, we gonna put that federal woman in trouble. I'll put the fuckin' blowtorch to her, and she'll scream so loud that her sniping girlfriend would be able to hear her all the way in New York City. Her, and that FBI girl, and pig-face Solo. I'll fucking fry 'em all.” Kody smiled again. “Believe me, that sniper will show up. And when she does, we’ll fuckin’ waste ‘em all.”


	16. Chapter 16

Ali was sitting in her office. She was looking at the phone number on the note that Ashlyn had left her the morning after she had slept over, and she was debating whether or not to call it. Ashlyn had called her cell again this morning, but Ali hadn’t picked up. She was still thinking things over. She really did like Ashlyn, and again, there were so many wonderful things about her, but she still wasn’t sure how she felt about balancing all of those wonderful things with what she had seen the night before last. She had told herself that she wouldn’t think about Ashlyn until after the raid, but now that the meeting between the Maranos and the Disciples was off, she was thinking about calling her and talking things out. I just don’t know what to do, she thought. I should just call her. Maybe just talking with her, or even seeing her in person, will help me make a decision on what to do, or how I feel. I’ll call her tonight, after work, Ali thought. I guess what I really need to do is figure out for myself if I can deal with the fact that I know she can operate like that with no regard for the law-

“Hey.” Krieger heard the voice and a knock on her door. She looked up and saw Hope. “Got a minute?”

“Yeah, sure”, Ali said. “Come on in.” Hope came in and closed the door. “What’s up?”

“Talk to me”, Hope said.

“About what?”

“Talk to me about this sniper.” Hope took a seat on the other side of Ali’s desk and looked Ali in the eye. “Look, I know you know who she is. I know you’ve seen her, and I’ve got a gut feeling that somehow you know her better than you’ve been letting on.” Ali was silent, so Hope continued. “Now, I don’t care what you guys have going on, law or no law, but after the shit that went down two nights ago in your apartment, and after finding Felipe Sosa and his men in that car, this whole thing is about to get a lot more dangerous." Ali remained silent, so Hope continued to press forward. "Look, I know things didn't go down in your apartment the way I took your report. So, I need to know everything about everything regarding this whole situation. So, if you have anything I should know, you need to tell me now.” Hope leaned forward and put her elbows on Ali’s desk. “No more fucking games, Krieger. Our lives could be on the line.”

Ali looked at Hope for a moment. Then she looked down, exhaled, and then looked back up at Hope. “I know the sniper.”

Hope stared at Ali for a moment, and then said, “Tell me everything.” Hope sat and listened as Ali told her about how she had met the sniper, Ashlyn Harris, outside of Marangos, how she had gone on a date with Ashlyn, how she had felt herself falling for Ashlyn, how Ashlyn had surprised Ali by breaking into her apartment and making dinner, how Ashlyn had spent the night, how Ashlyn had come over the next night, the night the Disciples had shown up, how Ashlyn had woken her up right before they had entered Ali’s apartment, and then how Ashlyn had exploded into action.

“So, the sniper – Ashlyn – is ex-Army Special Forces, and it was her who took out the four Disciples in your apartment?”

“Well, I did shoot one of the guys in the shoulder. But yes, Ashlyn took out the rest of them. And then she finished off the guy I shot in the shoulder with a point-blank shot to the temple. Also”, Ali said, “There was a fifth man, outside. He called up from the street for Sosa when he heard the shots. Ashlyn went out onto the balcony and took a few shots him. He started running away, for his car across the street. He got in and drove off, but I think Ashlyn might have hit him.”

“She shot him from your balcony? As he was running away?”

“Yeah.”

“With what?”

“My piece. It was the only gun that either of us used that night”, Ali said.

“Your 9MM?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn. Nice shot.” Hope was silent for a moment and then said, “So, where Ashlyn she now?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked with her since she left my apartment, like 36 hours ago.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Ali trailed off.

“Because what?” Hope asked.

“”Because…I don’t know…I was…unnerved…seeing her take out four guys by hand and close-up shots to the head.”

“Hmmm”, Hope said. She appeared to be thinking for a moment. “And why haven’t you told me about you and her already?”

“Why?” Ali asked. “Because I figured you’d haul me in for harboring a suspect. Or at the very least you’d be really pissed.”

“Krieger – you’re the one who’s the by-the-book stiff. You know I personally don’t care if she takes out every single one of the Marano family and the Disciples. I pretty much said that in the meeting with Wambach. You know how bad I want these guys, and honestly, I don’t care if they end up behind bars or under six feet of dirt. But, we should at least know what Ashlyn’s up to. The last thing we want is for her to pop up at some operation we’re running, and have her somehow be involved in killing or wounding some of our men."

“She wouldn’t shoot any of our men, Hope”, Ali defended Ashlyn.

“Right, but if we’re running an operation, and she shows up and starts picking off bad guys, the other side might panic and start opening fire, shooting anyone that moves.”

“Okay. I get that.”

“Look - talk to her. You know my position now. I'm not gonna haul you in for harboring a suspect or anything like that, but I need to know what she’s planning before we figure out what we’re going to do next, so we can let her know whether or not to show up.”

“Okay, I’ll call her, but she may not listen to me”, Ali said. “In case you haven’t noticed, she kind of does what she wants.”

Hope stood up. “Well, if your relationship is as you say it is, she should at least hear you out.” She looked at Ali for another moment and then walked out of her office.

 

********

 

Ashlyn was sitting in her car, parked just outside the federal building. She had called Ali's cell again earlier this morning, but Ali hadn’t answered. Right about now, Ashlyn was debating just going inside the building and walking into Ali’s office, just so she could see her. She would talk with Ali and her partners and Wambach and come clean. Maybe that would smooth things over with Ali? Ashlyn thought. Ali would then turn her in and then maybe go to bat for her. Maybe she could make something work, and then we could be together? It sounds like a movie ending, Ashlyn thought, but I just can’t help thinking like that. Earlier in the day, Ashlyn had hacked into the JOCT database again. She had been looking at Ali’s profile, especially her picture, and then had looked in her notes and noticed that the Marano/Disciple meeting had been called off by the Disciples. Ali had been right. They had called it off, and they had called it off because Ashlyn hadn’t done the smart thing. Thinking back on it, what Ashlyn should have done was to wake Ali and hustled her down the fire escape out the back. The Disciples would have come in and found the apartment empty. They would have carried on with their meeting, and then Ashlyn could have showed up and killed them all. Now, they were spooked. Who knows when they’ll meet again? Yes, Ashlyn thought, I let my emotions get the best of me. I was angry that they were going to hurt the woman I'm falling for, as anyone would have been, but the professional in me should have thought it through and taken the smarter route.

Ashlyn sat in her car thinking, continuing to think. What to do? Should I just go home, or should I go up?

 

********

 

Kody Mitchell arrived at the destination for their newly scheduled meeting. With him were Dominik, Terrell, and fifty of their street soldiers. The Maranos were on their way over now. Once they were set, Kody would have Scout put the word on the street that they were meeting. Scout knew people who would make sure that Solo got the word quickly. Solo and the JOCT woman and that punk at the FBI would rush over so as not to miss them, with a minuscule amount of backup. The combined Disciple and Marano army would shoot the unis and then grab the three pigs and start putting the hurt on them. The sniper bitch would come running, and then they’d waste ‘em all. Terrell’s men were already lacing the warehouse with gasoline. After they killed the pigs and the sniper, they would torch the warehouse. No survivors. Lots of fried bacon, and one cooked sniper. And that would be that.

Mitchell heard the warehouse gate open. He looked over and saw a dozen black vehicles roll in, and he smiled. Soon, they would be rid of the pigs and the sniper. And then, soon after that, he would be rid of the Marano family. And then he would own the city.

 

********

 

Ali was sitting in her office. It was a bit past 8pm. She was partly finishing up some paper work, and partly stalling on going home, because she had told herself she was going to call Ashlyn when she got home, and she was still unsure of exactly what she was feeling, what to say or how to say it. She was sitting there, devoting half of her brain to each task, when Hope and Megan barged in.

“Krieger”, Hope started. “We got word on another meeting.”

“What? Already?” Ali said.

“Yup. I just got the lead from a CI. The Maranos and the Disciples are meeting at the warehouse on Clinton Street, near Chinatown in thirty minutes.”

“That’s not enough time to organize a raid party”, Ali said.

“We won’t need one”, Hope said. “It’s just the heads – Giusseppi and Frankie Marano, Lippenzo, and Mitchell, Lancaster and Jackson. Maybe a few bodyguards. I’ll call in some unis to back us up.”

“Just the six of them? And maybe some body guards?” Ali asked. “Why are they meeting at a warehouse if it’s that few of them?” Something didn’t feel right to her.

“Who knows”, Hope said. “They move around all the time. Maybe they figured they’d meet there because they figured we wouldn’t be looking there for a small meeting.”

“Okay”, Ali said. “I’ll let Wambach know we’re moving.”

“There’s no time”, Megan said. We just walked past her office. She’s not here. We gotta move now. We can call her when we're en route.”

“Guys – hold up”, Ali said and then thought for a moment. “Something doesn’t feel right. Every time these two parties have met before, they’ve always taken time to set it up, and then it’s taken us time to find out about. How is it that we found out about this one so quickly?"

“Like I said, a CI of mine just called it in. He says it’s hot”, Hope said.

“I don’t know”, Ali said, unsure. “It kind of feels like…like they leaked it to us…or something...” she trailed off.

“Why would they do that?” Hope asked.

“Maybe the guy that Ashlyn shot who got away said something?” Ali brought up.

“Like what?” Megan said. Hope had filled Megan in on what Ali had said about Ashlyn.

“Maybe he saw Ashlyn. Maybe he said something to Mitchell. Maybe Mitchell somehow put it together that whoever shot at their man who got away is the sniper who’s been killing all of them off”, Ali said.

“Too dark”, Hope said. “All he would have seen was a silhouette. There’s no way he would have been able to tell who shot at him. As far as he knows, you killed Sosa and his three henchmen, and then shot at him, and he barely got away with his life.”

“So, I shot him with a 9MM from my balcony as he was halfway down the street, running? I’m not that good of a shot. Most people aren’t.” Something was bothering Ali, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. How did Hope find out about this meeting so quickly? Why did they find out so close to the meeting time? And, if the Maranos and the Disciples leaked it, what reason would they have for doing so? Ali sat there for a moment, thinking, and then said, “Guys, look – I’ve got an uneasy feeling about this. I mean, I want these guys as bad as you do, but…it’s like, we’re charging into this, a meeting that we just learned about, and it’s supposedly a small meeting but being held at a large warehouse. It just feels like we’re being set up.”

“Why would they be trying to set us up now? What’s the point now, as opposed to any other time?” Megan asked.

Ali couldn’t quite put it together, but the whole thing just felt…wrong. Is it possible that, somehow, Mitchell or Marano put it together that Ashlyn was over at my place, and that somehow, I’m connected to her? Mitchell and old man Marano are assholes, but they're smart, Ali thought.

“Guys, if we’re going to do this, we need to move now”, Hope said, checking her clip.

“Hope – hold on. I'm nervous about not having enough backup-"

“We gotta go now. I want to be set up and in place before they arrive. We can pull unis from the 18th precinct near Chinatown. They can provide enough backup, if it’s just the leadership plus a few guards”, Hope said, already heading out the door. “C’mon – we can’t miss this opportunity. We don’t know when they’ll meet again.”

Megan turned to leave as well. “I agree. Usually I’d want to take more time to prep, but we can’t risk missing this opportunity. We'll pull as much backup as we can on the way. Let’s go.”

Ali rose from her chair. Something just didn’t feel right. She grabbed her jacket and was about to follow Hope and Megan out, when the note from Ashlyn that was on her desk caught her eye. A troubling thought crossed her mind, and she stared for a second.

“Krieger! We need to move. Now!” Hope called from down the hall.


	17. Chapter 17

Ali, Hope, Megan and a dozen uniformed police officers were parked half a block away from the warehouse. From where they were they had a good view of the front of the warehouse facing Clinton Street, with large rolling warehouse vehicle doors, and the side entrance on Canal Street. More backup was on the way. Ali had convinced Hope to stop by the 18th precinct to brief the watch commander and pull some backup to roll with them. Hope had argued against that, since she didn’t want to lose time, but Ali had insisted. The whole thing just didn’t feel right to her. The troubling thought that she’d had, that this meeting had been set up to trap her, and thereby get to Ashlyn, was farfetched, but it was possible. She also knew that, if she was right, that they would be severely outnumbered.

“Alright", Hope began. “We approach the warehouse, enter through the side door on Canal Street, and then spread out once we're inside. If they move, we take them. Otherwise we wait for backup to arrive.”

“I don’t see any cars”, Ali said. There were no cars outside on the street or in the gravel parking lot.

“They may all be inside the warehouse”, Megan said.

“Maybe”, Ali acknowledged. “Makes it tough to figure out how many people are here.”

“My source says it’s a small meeting”, Hope reminded her. “Plus, it would have been tough to organize anything larger in such a short period of time.” She looked at Ali, Megan and the uniformed police officers. “Alright – let’s move.” They moved towards the warehouse, guns drawn, and approached the side entrance on Canal Street. Hope checked the door. It was unlocked. She pulled it open and the team filed in, Ali in the lead. It was dark inside the warehouse, except for a faint light at the far end. Ali looked around. As far as she could tell, the warehouse consisted of a main big area, and what looked to be some smaller rooms and maybe hallways on the outside perimeter. As Ali’s eyes adjusted to the dimness, she started to make out shapes, and her heart stopped. Cars. There were lots of cars. Lots of cars meant…

Hope caught up to Ali. Ali tapped her and motioned him back.

“We gotta get outta here, now”, Ali hissed as the group huddled together. “There’s like two dozen cars here.”

“That could be a hundred men”, Megan said, doing the math.

Ali’s blood ran cold. “It’s a fucking trap, Hope. Your CI set us up.”

Hope cursed silently and thought for a second. “Alright, let’s get back outside, and wait for back-“ She was about to say 'backup', when she was interrupted by a female scream. It came from the direction of the light at the back of the warehouse.

Ali looked up, and her face froze. “Oh my God”, she said.

 

********

 

“Fuck”, Ashlyn screamed. She was standing in a room in the warehouse. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling. Her weapons were on a table ten feet away. Her hands were duct taped behind her back. Around her were six Disciples. Two of them were holding her, one on each arm. The head of these six had just pushed the business end of a switchblade half an inch into her stomach.

Ashlyn had been at home twenty six minutes ago working on her laptop when she had received a text. She looked at her phone. It was Ali. She was hoping Ali was texting her to arrange a time to talk. Instead, her text said:

Just found out another mtg has been set up w Disciples n Maranos. Warehouse on Clinton near Chinatown. We r leaving from JOCT HQ ASAP. I have a bad feeling about this. Hope says the meeting is small, but for some reason it feels wrong. Not sure why. We r going to check it out without much backup. We could use u to watch our backs but pls b careful if u join us. 

Ashlyn read that and had sprung from her chair. It sounded like a setup, and it sounded like Mitchell or Marano had somehow figured out that Ali knew Ashlyn and was possibly trying to set a trap that included ensnaring Ali as bait to lure Ashlyn to the warehouse. Ashlyn though about all of this, but still, she had to go. She couldn’t let Ali and her team walk into that. They wouldn’t have time to assemble a raid team on such short notice, and if it was a trap, then they would be outnumbered. She had donned her black tactical outfit, grabbed her rifle, her 9MM, and her tactical knife. She had sped over to the warehouse and had parked a block away. She had grabbed her gear and had crept towards the warehouse. She had seen the main entrance on Clinton, with the large rolling warehouse vehicle doors, and the side entrance on Canal, and had headed towards the side entrance. There had been a man patrolling the outside, and Ashlyn had dispatched him with a silenced shot to the head and then dumped his body in the bushes nearby. She had opened the side door and had crept in. She had seen the light at the far end of the dark warehouse, and she had started towards it, when her eyes adjusted to the dark and she registered that there were at least two dozen cars in the warehouse. An alarm immediately went off in her head, and she started to back out, when all of a sudden all around her car doors opened, and men started to pour out. She took aim and fired, killing half a dozen men, but there were too many, coming from all directions. Someone hit her from behind, and she went down. What felt like 2000 pounds of human put their weight on top of her. Her wrists were duct taped behind her back, and she was hauled to her feet. Someone shoved a gun into her temple, but a voice said, “No – we’re taking her to Mitchell and Marano”, and she was roughly shoved towards the light. She had been careless. She had been worried about Ali and had charged right in without properly assessing the situation. Now, she was standing in this room with blood seeping from a stab wound to her stomach. It hurt like hell. She could tell they weren't trying to kill her. At least not just yet. They were just trying to hurt her. It was working.

“How’s that feel, bitch?” Dominik Lancaster said, as he smiled and squeezed Ashlyn’s cheeks?”

“Why don’t you untie me, you fuckin’ pussy, and fight me like a man?" Ashlyn said. "What, are you scared of me? Afraid I’ll kick the shit outta you, like I kicked the shit outta Felipe and his three buddies?”

Dominik smiled. This bitch had cajones. He liked that. That made it that much more enjoyable. “I don’t think so”, he said, and then stabbed her again. Ashlyn screamed again. “How’d that one feel?” He said, as he stroked her hair.

“I didn’t feel a fuckin’ thing”, Ashlyn said, gritting her teeth.

“Well, good. Cause that’s what you’ll be feeling all night long, bitch”, Dominik said. He smiled and was waving his switchblade in front of Ashlyn’s face, when a menacing baritone voice said, “D – chill out.” Dominik backed up. Ashlyn looked up.

“Wait – that’s not the JOCT woman”, Frankie Marano said, as he walked in the room. Giusseppe, Carmine, and their bodyguards were with him.

“No, it’s not”, said Kody Mitchell, as he walked in another doorway, along with four other Disciples. He looked at Ashlyn and smiled. “That’s the muthafuckin’ sniper.”

 

********

 

“Oh my God – that’s Ashlyn”, Ali said her face in horror.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Megan asked.

Hope looked at Ali.

“I…told her we were coming”, Ali said.

“Jesus”, Hope said.

“I was worried we would be outnumbered, the way this whole thing came together”, Ali said. “I thought we could use her help. You said it yourself, Hope. You don’t care if these guys end up behind bars or under six feet or dirt.”

“Well, it looks like they got her first”, Hope said.

“We have to go save her”, Ali said. This is my fault, she thought. Ashlyn is here because of me. Ali knew the meeting could have been a trap to get Ashlyn, but they needed her help. She had argued with Hope to stop at the 18th precinct to talk with the watch commander and get backup, because she was afraid they would be outnumbered. She also wanted to give Ashlyn enough time to get down here from wherever she was. Ali knew that Ashlyn would come if she texted her. Now, somehow, they had nabbed Ashlyn and were putting the hurt on her. Ali shuddered at the thought.

“We need to wait for backup before we go charging in there”, Megan said.

“No, we can’t!” Ali hissed. “They may kill her before backup arrives!” She started to walk towards the light.

“Krieger, wait-“ Hope said, but Ali was already off. “Shit!” Hope hissed. She pointed at Megan and six of the uniformed police officers. “You guys – come with me. The rest of you get outside, and you”, she pointed to a uniformed police officer, “find out when backup is coming, and tell them to get here ASAP.”

 

********

 

“So, this is the fuckin’ sniper bitch”, Kody Mitchell said, as he walked in the room. He looked at Ashlyn and then said, “I’ll be damned. She’s as hot as the federal bitch.” Laughter erupted.

“C’mon, Mitchell. You think you can take me? Untie my hands, and let’s find out how tough you are.” Ashlyn wasn’t trying to be tough. She was trying to goad Kody into taking off her binds, and then, once she was free, she was going to lunge for the nearest gun and shoot her way out. She was hoping that Kody would buy into it, that he would feel as though his machismo was being tested and untie her, but he just smiled.

“Nah, I don’t think so”, Kody said. “You killed Sosa and his guys with your bare hands. I got no problem keeping your bitch ass tied up.”

Giusseppe Marano stepped forward. In his hand was a piano wire. “And later, I’ll be tying this around your neck”, he said, stretching the wire.

“Fuck you, Marano”, Ashlyn said, and then glared at him. “You killed my parents. I’ll be killing you.”

“Damn, you killed her parents?” Kody asked Marano. Marano shrugged his shoulders. He honestly couldn’t remember who this woman’s parents were, but that was no surprise. He’d ordered so many hits in his life, it was hard to keep track. Kody smiled. “No wonder she’s pissed at you.”

“And you threatened my girlfriend, asshole”, Ashlyn said, glaring at Kody.

“What – the JOCT woman?” Kody said, and then laughed. “Ha! I knew there was somethin’ goin’ on there.”

“Where are the feds?” Giusseppe asked Ashlyn.

“Coming here with a SWAT team and a shitload of unis to arrest your asses. That is, if I don’t kill you first”, Ashlyn said. She actually didn’t know where Ali and her team were, but she was hoping they were waiting for backup, and bringing lots of it.

Giusseppe looked at Kody. “The feds aren’t here? I don’t like this”, he said. “I want to know where they are.”

“It doesn’t matter”, Kody said. “The whole reason we set up this meeting is to get this muthafucka right here. And now that we got her”, Kody said, “Let’s get to work.” He walked over to Ashlyn until her was standing right in front of her. “You’re a pretty good shot”, he said, and then punched her hard in the stomach. Ashlyn doubled over, and the room erupted in mean laughter again. “I wonder how good you’ll shoot without any fingers”. He smiled and was about to pull out a knife when the lights to the large open space in the warehouse went on. Kody chuckled and looked at Giusseppe. “Well, looks like the feds just joined the party.”

 

********

 

Ali, Hope and six uniformed police officers were creeping up towards the light. It looked like it was coming from a room at the far side of the warehouse. They were nearing the room, and Ali motioned for them to stop. They ducked behind some cars and Ali peered over. She could see Ashlyn, about fifty feet away, standing in the middle of the room. Her back was turned towards them, but Ali could tell it was her. It looked like her hands were duct taped behind her back. Two large Disciples flanked her on either side, holding her arms. Ali could see Giusseppe and Frankie Marano, Carmine Lippenzo, and their bodyguards on one side of the room. Dominik Lancaster and a bunch of other Disciples stood on the other side, behind Kody Mitchell. Kody was standing in front of Ashlyn. He was talking and then punched Ashlyn in the stomach. Ashlyn doubled over and mean laughter erupted. Ali’s heart lurched. She turned to Hope. “That’ it – I’m going in”, she said. She turned around and was about to charge in, when all of a sudden all of the lights went on. She put her hands to her eyes, blinded for a moment, and then looked up.

“Sup, pigs!” Terrell shouted. He was on the second floor, standing on a metal catwalk that surrounded the inside perimeter of the building. Forty armed Disciples were around him. “Kody, they here.”

“Well, shit”, Kody said. He stepped past Ashlyn, who was still recovering from the punch to her stomach, and stepped one foot into the main area of the warehouse. Giusseppe Marano followed him. He shouted something in Italian. Thirty emerged from the rooms along the perimeter of the warehouse, brandishing weapons.

“Pig face Solo”, Kody said with a smile.

“Special Agent Rapinoe, and Special Agent Ali Krieger”, Giusseppe said. At the mention of Ali’s name, Ashlyn tried to turn around to look at her, but the two Disciples flanking her held her facing the other way.

“Let her go, Mitchell”, Ali said, her gun trained on Kody.

Kody laughed. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He said.

“If you hurt her, I will-“

“You’ll fuckin’ do what!” Kody yelled. “Write me a fuckin’ ticket? You muthafuckin’ pigs!” All his humor was gone. He was all business now.

“Drop your weapons”, Giusseppe said. The uniformed officers started to lower their weapons, but Megan, Hope and Ali kept theirs up and trained on Kody and Giusseppe.

“Let her go”, Ali said again.

“Stop fuckin’ frontin’ like y’alls gonna shoot. Put down your fuckin’ guns, or we gone light you up", Kody yelled again. He waited for a moment, and then turned around. He grabbed Ashlyn by the hair and hauled her over so Ali could see her. Ali looked at Ashlyn and gasped. She could see that Ashlyn was cut on her stomach. it looked like someone had been stabbing her. Kody took out his switchblade and said, “I’m gonna count to three. And then I’m gonna carve this bitch up!”

Ali started to lower her gun. “One!” Kody yelled. Ali lowered her gun a little more. 

“Two!" Kody yelled, a little more menacingly. He put the blade against Ashlyn’s stomach.

Noooooo, Ali thought. She lowered her gun even more, but Ashlyn yelled, "Ali - shoot his ass!"

“Shut up, bitch!” Kody said and gave Ashlyn’s hair a hard yank. Ashlyn felt the tip of the knife against her stomach and braced herself for the pain. Ali looked into Ashlyn's eyes and felt sick. Then, she looked just to the right of Ashlyn, and saw Dominik Lancaster, holding a knife. The blade was stained with red. Dominick grinned at Ali and licked the blade.

“Th-“ Kody was about to say three, when all of a sudden sirens approached and tires screeched on the outside of the warehouse. A voice came through a megaphone, “Attention! We’ve got the building surrounded!” At the same time, Ali, seeing Dominik grin at her, registered that he was the one who had stabbed Ashlyn, and she lost control. She shifted her aim from Kody to Dominick and fired. She hit Dominik square in the head, and he went down. Then she took aim at Kody, but Ashlyn was right in front of him, so she aimed at Giusseppe instead and fired. She missed, and Giusseppe scrambled back into the room.

“Waste ‘em!” Kody yelled as he let go of Ashlyn and backed up towards the door he came in from. Then chaos erupted.

 

********

 

Hope, Ali, Megan and the uniformed police officers dove for cover behind some parked cars. They heard the door to the side entrance of the warehouse open and shouts as more police entered through. Bullets flew through the air.

“We gotta get over there!” Hope pointed to a protected alcove near the wall of the warehouse, then said, "Shit!", as a bullet struck the car right next to her, less than a foot away from her head. If they could make it over there, they would be shielded from the bullets raining down from above and also flying by them at ground level. Megan counted to three, and then she, Hope and the uniformed officers made a run for it.

“You guys go! I’m going to get Ashlyn!” Ali yelled back.

“Krieger, no!” Hope yelled, but Ali was already on her way.

 

********

 

As soon as Kody let her go, Ashlyn hit the ground, tucked her legs, pulled her hands underneath them and in front of her body, and then reached for Dominik’s knife. She cut the tape on her wrists and then looked up. Giusseppe Marano, Frankie Marano, and Carmine Lippenzo were running for the door they came in, their bodyguards in tow. Still crouched, Ashlyn lunged at the nearest Disciple, one of the men that had been holding her while Dominik stabbed her, with Dominik’s knife. The knife went through the man’s leg, and as he screamed, Ashlyn grabbed his gun out of his hand with her free hand. She twisted the knife and then pulled the trigger twice, and then man went down. Ashlyn sprung up and thrusted the knife through the neck of the other man who had been holding her. Blood spurted everywhere, the knife buried to the hilt in his neck, and then Ashlyn, using his body as a shield, pivoted and opened fire on the remaining Disciples in the room. She squeezed off four shots, and four bodies went down, then she let go of the man's body and scrambled for the doorway that the Maranos had gone out of. She made it through the door and halfway down a hallway, then she stopped and paused. She grabbed her stomach and winced in pain. The wounds weren’t life threatening, but she was losing some blood, and they hurt like hell. She closed her eyes and mentally put the pain somewhere else, then tried to listen through the gunfire. She heard shouting in Italian down a hall and she followed it. She rounded a corner and saw Giusseppe, Frankie and Carmine, along with four bodyguards, trying to force a door open. Ashlyn took aim and fired. Four more shots, and the four bodyguards went down. Giusseppe, Frankie, and Carmine whirled around.

“Holy sh-“ Carmine started, but Ashlyn silenced him with a bullet between the eyes.

“Alright, hey, look, broad-“ Frankie started, but Ashlyn silenced him as well with a shot between the eyes. Then she approached Giusseppe, who was trembling with fear. He fell to his knees as Ashlyn approached him.

“Look, just name your price”, Giusseppe said. Ashlyn walked towards him. As she got near, she suddenly dropped the gun, grabbed Giusseppe by the back of his head and delivered a hard knee into his face. Giusseppe fell down, face first, onto the ground. Blood spurted from his broken nose. Ashlyn spun behind him and drove her knee into his back, driving him all the way down. Keeping the pressure on, she grabbed the piano wire from Giusseppe’s hand and placed it around his neck.

“You killed my parents”, Ashlyn said, as she dug her knee into Giusseppi's back. She wrapped the wire around his neck and and pulled it tight. Giusseppe struggled for a few seconds, then slumped to the ground, blood pouring out of his neck. “That’s my price.”

 

********

 

Ali had been making her way to the room where Ashlyn had been. She had seen Ashlyn drop, and then the next thing she saw was Ashlyn exploding into action. She saw her take out six Disciples in ten seconds and then scramble through a door. Ali ran into the room, then went through the door where Ashlyn had exited. She heard a gasping, gurgling sound and followed it. She rounded a corner, and her jaw dropped. Frankie Marano, Carmine Lippenzo, and four other mobsters laid dead. They had all been shot. Still alive, but almost dead, was Giusseppe Marano. Around his neck was a piano wire. Ashlyn had pulled it so tight she head nearly guillotined his head off. He was bleeding profusely. “Jesus”, Ali said, looking at him. She stared for a moment, and then the last of Giusseppe Marano’s life went out. Ali stared at him for a moment longer as his body went lifeless, and then she moved on in search of Ashlyn.

 

********

 

Ashlyn slinked down a hallway. She was looking for Kody Mitchell. Kody Mitchell or Ali. She was hoping that they hadn’t found each other first. This warehouse was bigger than I had thought, Ashlyn said to herself, as she moved silently down the hallways, ducking into rooms. She was about to round a corner when she heard a voice behind her.

“Ashlyn!”

Ashlyn turned around to see Ali running up to her. “Oh my God”, Ali said, as she saw Ashlyn. She hugged Ashlyn tight and kissed her on the lips. Ashlyn winced. Ali heard her and pulled back, then looked at her wounds and said, “Oh my God, are you alright?”

“I’m okay”, Ashlyn said, wincing. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…I’m fine”. Ali said, as she stared at Ashlyn. Even having sustained stab wounds, Ashlyn was asking Ali is she was alright.

“How is your team?” Ashlyn asked.

“I don’t know”, Ali said. “I came to find you.” Again, stab wounds and all, still concerned about my team, Ali thought.

Ashlyn looked at Ali with a quizzical look on her face. “Ditched your team to find me, huh? Sure you weren’t breaking procedure?” she asked and then smiled slightly at Ali.

Ali smiled back. “You…you were in danger”, she said. She paused and then said, “You’re the most important thing to me.”

“Above following the rules, huh?” Ashlyn jockeyed, and smiled slightly again.

Ali smiled and nodded. She went to hug Ashlyn, then remembered that Ashlyn was wounded, so she cupped Ashlyn’s cheeks and kissed on the lips. They stayed locked for just a second, and then Ashlyn’s Spidey Sense went off, and she pulled back.

“Where’s Mitchell?” she asked.

“I don’t know”, Ali said.

“Right here, bitches”, Kody Mitchell said, as he stepped around a corner. He took aim at Ali, who was closer and had her back towards him. Ashlyn saw his arm come up and spun herself and Ali around 180 degrees so she was in front of Ali with her back to Kody. Kody fired, and the bullet hit Ashlyn in the back of her left shoulder. Ashlyn screamed and slumped against Ali. At the same time, Ali's arm came up firing around Ashlyn, and she hit Kody in the chest. She fired again and hit him in the chest again. She fired again and hit him again, this time in the neck, and then she fired again. Her final shot hit Kody in the forehead, and he went down. Ali stumbled back as Ashlyn’s weight slumped against her.

“Oh my God, Ashlyn”, Ali said. She laid Ashlyn down on her back and knelt over her.

“I’m okay”, Ashlyn hissed. “I'm okay. It fucking hurts, but I’m okay." Between the gunshot wound in the back and the knife wounds in the front, she couldn't find a comfortable position to lay. "Go”, she said. “Find your team.” Ashlyn reverted to her Special Forces mantra. The team comes first. "Go take care of your team."

“No”, Ali said. She could hear the gunfire in the main room dying down. More cars were pulling up outside. Sirens were everywhere. She looked at Ashlyn, who shifted onto her right side. “I’m not leaving you, hon."

Ashlyn closed her eyes and tried to block out the pain, but she smiled ever so slightly. Even in her condition, she registered that Ali had called her 'hon'.

 

********

 

“Well well well, Terrell Terrell Terrell”, Hope said, as he saw Megan escorting a handcuffed Terrell Jackson out of the warehouse. There were cop cars everywhere, and officers and SWAT were rounding up Disciples and Maranos. “Quite a mess you guys created down here. Torture, murder, shooting at police officers…” Hope trailed off as she took Terrell from Megan and slammed him face down onto the hood of a police cruiser.

“Fuck you, Solo”, Terrell said. “Your ass is dead, muthafucka!”

“I’m not so sure”, Megan said. “I saw my partner take out Dominik. Maybe the sniper wiped out Mitchell and the Maranos. You may be the only one left.”

“Yup”, Hope agreed. “And judging by this mess, you’ll be spending the rest of your days in the SHU down at Stateville.”

“Either that, or we can send the sniper after him”, Megan said to Hope.

"Man, fuck you guys”, Terrell spat back, but with less conviction.

Hope smiled at Megan, then opened the door to the back seat of the cruiser and shoved Terrell in the back. “Take him”, Hope said, and the cruiser sped off.

“Solo. Rapinoe.” Hope and Megan looked up to see Wambach approaching. “What the hell happened here?”

“We got a tip on a meeting between the-“ Megan began.

“Look, I can explai-“ Hope interrupted.

“Where is Krieger?” Wambach demanded, cutting Hope off.

Hope and Megan both looked around. “I don’t know”, Hope said. “She went off running after the sni-“ she was about to say “sniper” but Megan cut her off with a sideways slug to the arm. She looked at Megan, who shrugged.

“Jesus”, Wambach said, and walked off towards the warehouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's the end of the regular story. I hope you enjoyed it. I will post an epilogue as well, that will tie it all off, as well as some author’s notes and thoughts.  
> One last thing - even though this chapter ends with Wambach talking with Hope and Megan, imagine for the last shot of this scene that we return to Ali cradling Ashlyn on the ground of the warehouse, the camera pulling out, as Knockin' On Heaven's Door is playing. Hollywood!


	18. Chapter 18

Epilogue

“Hi hon, I’m here”, Ali said softly. She leaned over the hospital bed and kissed Ashlyn lightly on the forehead. Ashlyn stirred and opened her eyes.

“Hi baby”, Ashlyn said. She tried to move, but Ali stilled her.

“Don’t move”, Ali said. “Just rest.” Ali pulled up a chair next to the bed and took Ashlyn’s hand in hers.

After the fiasco at the warehouse had started to die down, as members of various law enforcement agencies were rounding up members of both the Marano family and the Disciples, several uniformed police officers had found Ali, huddled over Ashlyn. Ashlyn had been rushed by ambulance to Cook County hospital in downtown Chicago. Ali had intended to go with her, but Wambach had appeared as Ashlyn was being loaded into the ambulance and had demanded to know what the hell had happened, so Ali had sent two uniformed police officers to accompany Ashlyn, and then she, Hope, Megan and Wambach had gone back to Wambach’s office. Ali had started from the beginning and told Wambach all about how she had met Ashlyn, how they had fallen for each other, how Ashlyn had saved her the night the Disciples had come to her apartment, and then how she had tapped Ashlyn to help with the meeting tonight, and the subsequent fallout from that. Wambach had listened at times and yelled at times. Hope had jumped in, defending Ali, and even Megan jumped in, but, after all of the talking, Wambach had told Hope and Megan to leave her office. She then had asked Ali for her badge and her gun. Ali had started to protest, but she knew that she had operated around official procedure, and Wambach was a by-the-book boss. Wambach had been apologetic, but she said she had to follow procedure. With something this big, and with an outside party like Ashlyn having been involved, internal affairs would have to open an official investigation. She would put Ali on paid leave indefinitely, until the investigation was over. Ali had sighed and turned in her badge and gun, walked out of Wambach’s office, and then had gone directly to Cook County hospital. Fortunately, the surgeons had been able to remove the bullet from Ashlyn’s shoulder without much complication. They treated her knife wounds and stitched them up. Then they took her up to recovery and put her on a morphine drip. Ali had walked in shortly after.

Ashlyn’s eyes fluttered, and she looked at Ali and smiled, then fell back asleep. Ali stayed there, holding her hand.

 

********

 

3 Months Later:

“And it is my pleasure to recognize Special Agent Ali Krieger, for representing the highest ideals of commitment, service, and honor – the founding principles of the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce.” The room erupted into applause as Ali stepped forward. Jill Ellis, Director of JOCT, turned away from the podium to smile at Ali and hand her a medal, and then the two shook hands. They looked out into the audience as people rose from their seats and cameras flashed. Ali looked at the table to the front left. Hope was standing and applauding. She had been recognized herself by the Chicago Police Department for her efforts, and she was now heading up a special enforcement unit called the Strike Team. It was an anti-gang, anti-vice crime-fighting unit, modeled after the original Strike Team from the Farmington Police Division in Los Angeles. Megan was also standing and applauding. She would be recognized by the FBI next month. Wambach was standing as well. She had also been recognized, as Ali’s supervising officer, and she had actually been the one who had largely taken care of the internal affairs investigation from Ali's side, as well as taking care of the press. Then, Ali looked at the striking blonde beauty who she was delighted to now call her girlfriend. Ashlyn was standing and applauding, and smiling proudly and radiantly. Ali looked at her and smiled even wider than she already was.

Ashlyn had been discharged from the hospital a week after the warehouse fiasco. Ali, on leave, had helped settle her back into her condo. She had stayed with Ashlyn for three days straight, and then had gone back to her own apartment to pack a suitcase. She had come back to Ashlyn’s apartment and ended up staying for another month while Ashlyn recovered. Ashlyn had recovered slowly but surely. A week out of the hospital, she had been able to function around the condo all by herself. Two weeks after that, she and Ali had started going on walks and outings to restaurants and shops. Two weeks ago, Ashlyn had said she felt almost a hundred percent. Her left shoulder still hurt a bit, but besides that she was pretty much healed. A week ago, she and Ali had gone for a jog down the lake shore path. After their jog, they had come back to Ashlyn’s, and after a long shower together, Ali had made them dinner. That night, Ashlyn had asked Ali if she would move in. Ali had said yes, and within a week, she had broken the lease on her apartment and had moved all of her belongings into Ashlyn's condo.

Right about the same time Ashlyn had been discharged from the hospital, an investigation had kicked off into the events that had lead up to the warehouse fiasco. Ali had been called in to attend a few hearings, as had Hope and Megan, but Wambach did most of the talking. As it turned out, Wambach, for all of her by-the-book tendencies, had really gone to bat for Ali. She had spun the story to Ellis, and had not only gotten Ali reinstated, but she had also put in a good word for her, enough of a good word to have Ellis honor her at the JOCT annual awards banquet. Ali was back to being Special Agent Ali Krieger of the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce.

The one outstanding complication on Ashlyn and Ali’s end had been Ashlyn’s involvement. When Internal Affairs had opened the investigation, they had dug into Ashlyn’s background, and then had gone ballistic once they discovered she was a former Army Special Forces operator. Fortunately, by that time, Wambach had been able to speak with Ellis, and Ellis had spoken with Internal Affairs. She had let them know that Ashlyn had saved Ali’s life, and that, despite having operated as a rogue assassin, there were ways in which she may be able to serve the government, and would therefore be more valuable out of prison than in it. Ellis and Internal Affairs had met with Captain McAllister, who had been the commanding officer of the Special Forces unit in which Ashlyn had served. Captain McAllister had spoken with General Flood, head of Army Special Forces, and all parties had come to an agreement that Ashlyn would avoid any trial or subsequent prison time, as long as she saw a mental health professional.

“Hon, please”, Ali had said, as they sat down to dinner one night.

“I don’t need to see anyone, baby.”

“But you do”, Ali implored softly. “Ashlyn – you’re facing prison time if you don’t.”

“I don’t need someone to help me figure out what’s right and wrong”, Ashlyn said, indignantly.

Ali looked at her and then got down on her knees. She took Ashlyn’s hands in hers and said, “Maybe you don’t. But whether you’re right or wrong, I don’t want to go through the rest of my life with you behind bars and not by my side.” She looked at Ashlyn with her beautiful brown eyes, and Ashlyn thought, well, it looks like I’m going to see the shrink. I mean, how can I say no to that face?

So, Ashlyn started seeing a mental health professional once a week. Her counselor was recommended by the army and specialized in working with ex-military personnel, especially those who had served in elite units. Ashlyn found that, despite her initial resistance, it actually did feel good to talk with someone. She spoke with her counselor about her parents’ mugging, their deaths, and how those had made her feel directionless and had also made her want revenge. She talked about how she had enrolled in the army looking for purpose in her life, and then how she had enrolled in the Special Forces with the idea of someday actually avenging her parents’ deaths. She talked about how she had met Ali, how she had fallen for her, and how she had killed four men right in front of her, and how she had felt when she had seen the look in Ali’s eyes after she had done that. She talked about how she had wondered what she had become, and if she was unfit for life in the civilian world, and especially unfit to have a normal romantic relationship, which is what she really wanted. The counselor helped her through her thoughts, and through that Ashlyn felt like she was actually adjusting to life as a civilian, although she secretly told herself that, if she saw someone committing a crime against an innocent person, she couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t do anything.

 

********

 

2 Years Later:

“Hi beautiful, how was your day?” Ashlyn asked Ali. Ali had just walked in the door from work. It was 9pm. Ashlyn was making dinner – homemade cheese ravioli with fennel sausage and a tomato and basil sauce.

“Ugh. Long”, Ali said. "Sorry I'm getting home so late." Home was now a 2-bedroom condo in Lakeview. Ashlyn and Ali had bought it together a year ago. Ashlyn had sold her condo in Lincoln Park and had stopped renewing the leases on the other apartments she had been renting, since she no longer felt like she needed them anymore, now that she wasn't actively engaging in war against criminals. Their new condo was right near Stefano’s, and Ashlyn and Ali would often walk there to have dinner.

"Baby - it's okay", Ashlyn said, understandingly. "Remember? I support what you do, and I understand that you work late sometimes."

Ali smiled. She remembered Ashlyn referencing something like that on their first date. She put down her bag, walked over to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Ashlyn from behind. Ashlyn smiled, then leaned back and kissed Ali on the lips. “That smells wonderful, hon”, Ali said.

“Thank you”, Ashlyn said. “So, what’s happening at work?”

“You know - the same”, Ali said and sighed. She had been working on various cases involving new players in Chicago's criminal underworld. Since the demise of the heads of both the Marano family and the Chicago Disciples, new contenders had been vying for the spot as the top criminal enterprise, among them The Rose Syndicate, headed by a pyschotic street-kid-turned-criminal named Carli Lloyd Rose. Ali had been working with Hope’s Strike Team, as well as Megan and Megan's new partner, a wild rookie named Alex Morgan, to put the bad people behind bars, but it seemed like, as soon as they took someone down, someone new popped up.

“You need any help?” Ashlyn asked and shot Ali a sideways glance.

Ali looked at Ashlyn and smiled. She knew what Ashlyn meant. “No, hon, we don’t, but thank you.”

Ashlyn smiled. “I know, you don't want to break the law."

"Really, hon?" Ali raised her eyebrows at Ashlyn and smiled. "You know, I believe it was me who texted you to come to that Marano/Disciple meeting at the Clinton warehouse, remember? And it was me who begged you to go see a counselor so you wouldn't get prosecuted by the law for being a civilian who killed like over a dozen people."

"I'm just teasing you”, Ashlyn said, and she winked at Ali.

Ali smiled. She grabbed a beer out of the fridge and then said, “How did your seminar go the other day? Sorry I missed you there.”

Ashlyn turned off the stove and started serving dinner onto plates. “It was good”, she said. Ashlyn had given a self-defense seminar at JOCT headquarters. Ali had not been able to attend, since she was out at a crime scene when Ashlyn had been in the office. Since learning who she was and what she had done in Ali’s apartment, JOCT, the FBI and various police departments had all contracted Ashlyn to give self-defense seminars to their field personnel. “People always ask about the crushing-the-windpipe blow and the neck snap, but I don’t teach that", she said, shaking her head but smiling. "I mostly stick to joint locks and other crippling-but-non-lethal moves. Dinner’s ready, baby”, Ashlyn said. Ali came to the kitchen table, and they sat down to eat.

“Are you doing any computer or design work this week?” Ali asked as she started in.

“No one's contacted me yet”, Ashlyn said, and shrugged. Ashlyn had just finished up an assignment last week. She didn’t really need the money anyway, but she just liked to keep busy. They continued talking through dinner, with Ashlyn doing most of the talking, and then she refilled her wine glass, got Ali another beer, and they moved to the couch. Ashlyn half-laid on the couch, and Ali nestled into her.

“Are you okay, baby?” Ashlyn asked. “ You seemed like, preoccupied, or something, during dinner."

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Ali sighed. “It’s just like, it’s never-fucking-ending. Every time we put someone away, someone new pops up.”

Ashlyn was quiet for a second, and then said, “Are you sure you don’t need any help?” She smiled as she asked.

Ali smiled back. “No, I don’t need any help, but thank you again.” Her hand slid underneath Ashlyn’s shirt, and her palm ran along Ashlyn’s torso. She could feel the large old scar on Ashlyn’s left rib cage, and then the two new scars on Ashlyn’s stomach from the stab wounds that Dominik had inflicted. Her hand continued to roam around Ashlyn's torso, and she heard Ashlyn sigh. She looked up into Ashlyn’s eyes, smiled, and then scooched herself up a bit and gave Ashlyn a long kiss. “At least, I don’t need any help with work”, Ali said. She got up, put her beer on the coffee table, took Ashlyn's wine glass and put it on the coffee table, then took Ashlyn by the hand and led her into their bedroom.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was it, but I have included a few thoughts about the story below.
> 
> I tried to do something a little different this time around, which was to write a story that was more of an action story. I love Hollywood, and I wanted this story to almost read like a script. I wanted it to flow in a way so the reader could easily picture the action taking place. Also, I wanted to the reader to think about, it was this: What is morality? Who decides what is right and wrong? Do laws really dictate right or wrong? Does the fact that something is illegal make it wrong? And lastly, is morality in the eye of the beholder? Do our experiences shape our views of morality, and if we were to experience something new, would our views on morality shift? If you had experienced what either Ashlyn or Ali had experienced with regards to their families, would your views on morality be different from what they are now? I supposed only you can answer that.
> 
> Mahalo and fond Aloha


End file.
